Four Swords Times Three
by RichaCo
Summary: Third installment of my trilogy. Read the others first. NEW CHAPTER UP!
1. Default Chapter

Wow, that was fast, eh? This is only the prologue, nothing special. Except, this time, the prophecy is included, so you guys can have quite a few guesses at who they all are. The story even takes place in a new land as well of my own creation. Enjoy!  
  
Prologue: the prophecy  
  
Yes, the sands of time have shifted many times in fact for a young man named Link who has faced unimaginable odds on his own. Along his adventures, he was joined by many others that shared the same ideas as him.  
  
His companions consisted of the princess of destiny, a former manslayer, a temperamental half-demon, a monkey-tailed rogue, a master of spirits and demons, a former mad scientist, and a created psychic.  
  
Together, they saved several lands from destruction. But, a new land now looms before them, enshrouded by it's own shadows. The evil here will be far greater than anything that they have faced before.  
  
Evidently, they would have trouble. But, as the prophecy states, they will be joined by new warriors along the way. Among these new fighters will are a jester forged from dreams and nightmares, a time-traveling priestess, a female sword master, and a white thief. One travels with them, one will show himself in the subconsius of the companions, one found deep within the sands of time and a heart of stone, and one will be found defending something that she loves.  
  
It is true that these great warriors will show themselves. But, in the meantime, our heroes have no idea what they are getting themselves into. One can only hope that they find out soon enough for their sake and the sake of others...  
  
_____________________________________________________________  
  
There. Like I said, nothing special. I think that I made the hint for the next warriors a little to obvious, but you can't blame me for trying. Tell me what you think and I'll get the actual story up soon! 


	2. It's a whole new world

Hello and welcome to the second chapter of my third installment in the four swords saga. I hope that this one will be as much of a success as the two others were. I can't really say how long this one will be. I'm planning to make it a little longer than the second one. Well, enough of my blabbing! On with the fic! BTW, great guesses on who you all think the new four swords are gonna be.  
  
Chapter 2: It's a whole new world  
  
Link and his friends were walking along. Of course they were walking. They had not stopped walking since they had left Termina.  
  
Link could not believe everything that had transpired during his travels so far. He had saved two lands for the second time and had found many new friends. He even had a wife now.  
  
Traveling along with him was Zelda, the former princess of Hyrule. She had readily given up the title after she left Hyrule with Link and his friends. They were both married now and very happy. They were both adventurers at heart, so these long journeys was basically their honeymoon.  
  
Along with them, the former manslayer, Kenshin Himura traveled. He had become a close friend of Link since his first adventure to save Hyrule a second time from the mad warlock, Gannondorf. He was truly a marvolus swordsmen, but he did not like to talk about that due to his dark past.  
  
Inuyasha, the foul-mouthed, foul-tempered half-demon was another of their companions. He was extremely strong and had made a friend out of Link and Kenshin during their first adventure. At first, he was only journeying with them for personal reasons, but in time, he managed to open up to them and show a bit of compassion for the others. He didn't show it often, but it was there.  
  
A fifth traveler was Zidane. No one really know much about his past, but that was probably for the best. He had the tail of a monkey and the mind of a pervert. It was true that he was a bit of a lecher, but his loyalty was unquestioned. He would follow a friend to the ends of the earth or the bottom of the sea if he had to.  
  
Another one of the travelers was known as Yusuke Urimeshi. He was just as foul-tempered as Inuyasha and could match him in an argument in any way possible. They were both equal in physical abilities as well. Yusuke also had abilities to sense the dead and to use his own energy as a weapon. He met the others in Ikana canyon and saved them from certain destruction against a troop of undead ninjas.  
  
Next in line came another mysterious character, Dr. Ivo Robotnik. He was a brilliant scientist with an I.Q. of 300. Though his physical abilities were very limited, his knowledge of mechanics came in handy, as did his invention, the Egg Walker, his pride and joy.  
  
Then, there was Mewtwo. He was from another world and, according to him, he had been created. During his creation, he had been given outstanding psychic abilities. His powers of the mind were on par With Inuyasha's and Yusuke's physical power.  
  
Finally, there was the tag-along, Rouge the bat. According to Robotnik, she used to work as a spy and a thief for him. She was quite a skilled martial artist and prided herself on her body. She was pretty much the definition of sex appeal. She decided to join up with Link and the others when she found out that her former employers, the Majora spawn were gong to ax her after she had outlived her use.  
  
Yes, quite a rag-tag group of random powers and personalities, ne? Believe it or not, this is the same group that defeated two of the greatest threats the world had ever known. But, enough with the past and the intros. We have a story to get to.  
  
Link was a little concerned with where they were headed. He had never been to this part of the world before.  
  
Zelda walked up to him and asked, "Link, do you have any idea where we're headed?"  
  
Link shook his head. "If I know where we were headed, we would probably be there already."  
  
Zidane cleared his throat. "I hate to be the downer here, but our food supplies are really running low here. We've got enough for two, maybe three more days at the most."  
  
Inuyasha scoffed. "Well, I guess we all know who to blame for that, eh?" he said as he turned towards Robotnik.  
  
Robotnik shook his head. "Don't go accusing me, Inuyasha. Rouge is the one who has been sneaking extra servings."  
  
Rouge pouted and began to defend herself. "Hmpf! You think it was me? I'm insulted! I need to watch what I eat to keep my perfect figure."  
  
Zidane smirked playfully. "Relax, Rouge. Even if you were chunky, your upper body portions would make up for it."  
  
Rouge ran up and drove her fist straight into Zidane's face. He stumbled and rubbed his face.  
  
Yusuke was about to make a smart remark when he felt something very eerie near them. "Guys, I'm starting to feel something very freaky over those mountains over there."  
  
He pointed to a few rocks over to the west, but they weren't very tall.  
  
Mewtwo hovered forward and said, "Well, I don't really fell like climbing, so I'll just remove this little obstacle."  
  
Mewtwo raised his hand and with a quick wave, the mountain was nothing but rubble. But, this seemed to take a lot out of him, so he sank to the ground.  
  
Link and Zelda walked up to him, concerned. "Are you alright?" Zelda asked.  
  
Mewtwo smirked. "Note to self: in the future, destroy a mountain in chunks."  
  
They all heard Rouge gasp and Robotnik said, "What the hell happened here?"  
  
Everyone looked to see that he was looking past the rubble of the mountains onto a barren battle field, filled with graves. They were all simple crossed sticks on mounds. They were all worn and seemed to be quite old.  
  
Link shook his head. "This is the result of an ancient war."  
  
Robotnik looked down on the monitor on his Egg Walker. "There seems to be a civilization exactly three miles north of the graveyard. Maybe we can get some answers there."  
  
Everyone nodded in agreement. They headed off, hoping to discover a little more about this mysterious graveyard.  
  
******  
  
A young woman stepped out of the bushes after they had left. "So, we have some new players in this game. This just makes in all the more interesting."  
  
She was dressed in a robe that seemed to switch from white to black and back again.  
  
Her hair was a dirty blond and she stepped out onto the battlefield without hesitation. "Yes. I sense a lot of power behind those nine. My job just got a little more fun.  
  
******  
  
Link and the others stepped through the gates of a most extravagant city. They were quickly welcomed by the mayor of the town. "Welcome, to cherry blossom village, the center of continent of dreamcone and home of the famous warlord festival."  
  
Inuyasha was not one for manners or formalities and just cut right to the chase. "What's with that giant graveyard back there?"  
  
The mayor chuckled. "Oh, that is the whole reason that we have this festival. It is to celebrate the date when we won a war against the Sharaks."  
  
Yusuke spoke up next. "So, that would explain that giant battlefield back there.  
  
The mayor nodded. "And to celebrate that event, a big tournament is held along with the festival. Any fighters are willing to participate and you don't have to be of any skill level to enter. You just have to want to win. The winner will have any one wish that he or she desires that is within my grasp to grant."  
  
Link nodded. "That sounds interesting. Maybe we should enter."  
  
Inuyasha smirked. "Sounds good to me. I've been meaning to show you guys that I am the strongest."  
  
Robotnik shook his head. "On the contrary, my friend, it will be brain power that will win this compotition."  
  
The mayor smiled. "This is splendid. I shall inform the tournament comity that we have another nine competitors. This will be our biggest roster yet!"  
  
He politely showed them to the inn. Then, he left.  
  
They all found themselves in lavishly decorated rooms that the bellhop had said were reserved for tournament fighters only.  
  
Link quickly found himself fast asleep. But, his dream was definitely not normal.  
  
He found himself standing in a vacant field. Then, he saw an odd sight. A person dressed like a purple jester flew over to him and landed in front of him. A small red jewel was encrusted on his chest. He had a childish face and didn't seem serious at all. He bowed to Link politely then, he snapped his fingers.  
  
Link found himself wide awake after that. "What was that all about?" he wondered. Link let his head find the pillow again and fell into another, calmer sleep.  
  
_____________________________________________________________  
  
Yep, a second chapter. I just hope that this is enough to keep you people interested. And I hope that Link's dream gave you a few more hints on who one of the new warriors is. Just as a field note, I have never played the game that this guy is featured in, but I do know enough about it to have a feel for this personality. Read and Review and the third chapter will be up soon (I hope). 


	3. The day before

I am back and I bring with me, a new chapter, fresh from the oven! This one is going to be long, I can promise you that. I hope you all enjoy it. I don't know why I keep asking that, you always do... right? Anyway please tell me what you think of this chapter.  
  
Chapter 3: The day before  
  
Link awoke to the sound of someone knocking on his door. Stirring, he got up and gathered his things. Then, he opened the door to find all of his friends there, including the mayor of the town.  
  
The mayor smiled as he said, "Sorry to wake you all, but the drawings for the tournament will begin in fifteen minutes. You need to be there if you want to be a contender in the tournament. The rest of the information will be given to you at the tournament drawing room."  
  
The mayor shuffled off, leaving everyone to absorb what he had said as their minds cast out the haze of sleep.  
  
After this, everyone was directed to the tournament drawing building. It was nothing fancy, just a warehouse that was still in good shape. Everyone entered to find quite a few other people there as well. Most of them were probably just witnesses as there were only sixteen fighting slots to fill.  
  
They all stepped forward towards a young man in an orange robe. He greeted them and said, "Hello! I am Juan-Tao and I will be here as the overseer of the drawings."  
  
Juan-Tao quickly stepped up onto a pedistel and said, "Ladies and gentlement! Let me start off by thanking you for volunteering for this tournament. I'm sure you all know what the prize is, so I'll just skip right to the rules. The first and most important rule of all is no one is allowed to kill."  
  
Inuyasha scoffed. "Sure, take all the fun out of it, why don't ya?"  
  
Juan-Tao ignored this comment and continued. "Next, I must clarify that no weapon is off limits. This means that, as long as you don't use it to intentionally kill your opponent, you can use anything as a weapon. You will be eliminated if you fall out of the ring, if you start to cry, or if you get knocked out for more than ten seconds."  
  
Everyone nodded, fully understanding the rules. Juan-Toa held up a plain cardboard box and said, "Within this box is contained sixteen slips of paper. On each piece of paper is a number from one to sixteen. When you draw a number, tell it to me and I will record you on this board. This will determine the fighting order."  
  
Tao picked up a sheet of paper and called out, "Would a Mr. Link come forward?"  
  
Link stepped forward and reached his hand into the box. His hand clenched around a piece of paper and drew it out. Looking at it, he reported, "I'm number six."  
  
Tao nodded and wrote down Link's name in the sixth slot on the board. "Inuyasha."  
  
Inuyasha walked up, wearing his trademark scowl and drew out a piece. Looking at it, he simply said, "One."  
  
Tao nodded and put Inuyasha down as one. "Shadow the hedgehog."  
  
At the mention of that name, Rouge and Robotnik looked over to see an ebony hedgehog with red streaks in his quills standing there. "It can't be!" Rouge exclaimed.  
  
Robotnik was just as shocked. "My god! It is Shadow!"  
  
Shadow, as he approached the box, looked towards the two. "It is good to see you again Rouge, doctor."  
  
Yusuke looked towards Robotnik and Rouge. "You two know Mr. Sunshine there?" he asked.  
  
Rouge nodded as Robotnik elaborated. "It was quite a while ago. I found him stored in a statis tube as a biological project. He was created in an attempt to create the ultimate life form. The entire research project was codenamed PROJECT: Shadow. He was cold-hearted and cruel back then, but during the later days that I knew him, he appeared to lighten up a little. Then, there was a terrible accident. While we were fighting off a wave of military pursuit, Shadow used all of his energy to create one giant explosion that finished off all of the guards. But I though that he had gone with them."  
  
Rouge nodded again. "Yeah, I remember. I was with you then, wasn't I?"  
  
Shadow interrupted them by saying, "Seven."  
  
He walked down, seeming to leave a very dark trail behind him. It made some of the others in the room shudder.  
  
Tao did not seem affected by this and called out, "Mewtwo."  
  
Mewtwo wasted no time and drifted up to the box. Drawing out a paper, he simply crumpled it up in his hand and announced, "It's eight. Check it if you wish."  
  
Tao had learned not to doubt a person's abilities and simply marked down Mewtwo as number eight. This gave them the first official matchup of the tournament, Mewtwo vs. Shadow. This was going to be interesting already. The two self-proclaimed ultimate life forms up against each other already.  
  
Mewtwo stared back at Shadow who returned his gaze, each of them scrutinizing each other.  
  
While this was happening, Tao said, "Yusuke Urimeshi."  
  
Yusuke walked up and drew his number. It was another good matchup. He had number two. He announced this good and loud before saying, "Inuyasha, I'll see you in the ring."  
  
Inuyasha smirked. "Bring it on, ghost boy."  
  
As Yusuke stepped down, Tao announced, "Kenshin Himura."  
  
Kenshin walked up and drew another of the swiftly dwindling numbers. He held it up. The number sixteen was shown, clear as day on the paper.  
  
After marking Kenshin down, Tao said, "Katama Karuma."  
  
A cloaked figure stepped forward. It extended one clawed hand into the box and fished out a number. He spoke in a very raspy, yet baritone voice. "I have the pleasure of tearing Mr. Himura apart. Fifteen."  
  
Tao nodded, slightly frightened by the person's choice of words. As the cloaked figure stepped away, he called out, "Ivo Robotnik."  
  
Robotnik walked forward and reached one skinny arm into the box. He removed, yet another number from its resting place. He stared at it and said, "Four."  
  
Tao nodded as the slightly fat man walked off. Next he called, "Zidane."  
  
Zidane sprinted up, eager to see who he would be fighting. He drew out a number and frowned. "Five."  
  
Zidane walked away, rather slowly. Link asked, "What's wrong, Zidane?"  
  
Zidane looked up at his friend and pointed to the chart that was quickly filling up with names as the matches were determined. "Take a look. It's you against me in the third match. I was hoping that I would at least get someone to warm up on, but now I'm sure that I'm gonna get knocked out in the first round."  
  
Link shook his head. "Don't worry. Your just as good a swordsman as me, and a much better hand-to-hand fighter."  
  
This statement seemed to brighten Zidane up a little.  
  
Tao shouted out the next fighter's name. "Mario Mario."  
  
A short pudgy man strod up dressed in a red shirt and blue overalls. He had a large black moustache on his face and a hat on his head that had an 'M' engraved on the forehead. As he approached the bench, he said, in a heavy Italian accent, "It's-a me, Mario!"  
  
This strange new combatant reached in and drew out the number thirteen.  
  
He jumped back down as his name was added to the board. Tao then said, "Zelda."  
  
Zelda ran up and drew a number, getting three. She looked over at Robotnik who nodded, understanding what was going on. She stepped down.  
  
After updating the board, Tao said, "Rouge."  
  
Rouge ran up and thrust her hand in deep. She withdrew it to find the number twelve in her hand.  
  
As she left, Tao added her to the board and said, "I regret to inform you that one of our fighters said that he would not appear until the start of the tournament for reasons known only to him. He sent this letter that said he would appear after a while and he requests that I draw for him."  
  
Tao showed everyone the letter. Then, it burst into flames that appeared to be purple.  
  
Tao reached into the box and drew out a number ten.  
  
Tao simply put a question mark in the ten slot since the person had neglected to include a name with his letter.  
  
Next, Tao said, "Would Magnum approach."  
  
The one named Magnum drew out an eleven without delay.  
  
Finally, Tao just marked the fourteenth spot for the final fighter, Crunch.  
  
With that taken care of, Tao said, "The tournament will begin tomorrow at noon. Do not be late. Each person has exactly five minutes before each of their matches to show or they will be disqualified. I suggest that you use this time to prepare anything that you want to use for the tournament tomorrow. Good luck to you all."  
  
With that spoken, all of the fighters exited the warehouse and took off to train and prepare for the upcoming crunch time.  
  
Zidane was taking Link's words to heart and was practicing his martial arts skills more than his swordsmanship.  
  
Mewtwo went off to find a place to meditate. He knew that he was going to need every ounce of power that he could muster to win tomorrow. He could feel the dark energy radiating from every pore on Shadow. Eggman was not kidding when he had said that Shadow had been created as a prototype for the ultimate life form.  
  
Zelda was trying to orientate her chain-handling abilities. Her chain may have been powerful, but she had very little control over it after she swung it.  
  
Rouge went into a nearby forest and started kicking down every tree in her way.  
  
Yusuke was using anything he could get his hands on as a sparing partner. The same went for Inuyasha. Tomorrow, they knew that two egos would enter the ring but only one would come out unscathed.  
  
Robotnik was giving his egg walker every tune up and upgrade he could think of. His intelligence would be a bi advantage over most of the compotition, but he need to back that up with some sort of power.  
  
Kenshin was trying to consentrate on bringing his aura closer to its peak efficiency.  
  
Link went straight up to his hotel room and fell fast asleep, wanting to save all the energy he had for noon tomorrow.  
  
In his dream, Link had found a new conscious. He was standing on top of a tower, facing the same purple jester as before. It smiled at him.  
  
"Who are you?" Link asked.  
  
The jester floated up into the air before answering, "Don't worry, I'll be seeing you really soon, man."  
  
With that said, Link continued to dream without interruption from anything. And with the tournament fast approaching, he was going to need all the sleep he could get.  
  
_____________________________________________________________  
  
Yes! There is another chapter done with a lot of words in there. This was a long chapter, but it wasn't really exciting was it? No, that happens in the next chapter when the tournament starts. And, for all those who are interested, I will be introducing the first of the four new swords! Stay tuned! 


	4. The tounament part 1

Sorry that I took this long to update, but school has been rather demanding... and it is only Tuesday. Well, I have tomorrow off because of parent-teacher meetings, so I'll see what I can do then. And, In this chapter, the tournament will get off to a rip-roaring good start as Inuyasha and Yusuke square off against each other. Plus, we will be meeting the first of the new warriors. As a footnote, I'm really surprised that no one was able to guess who it was.  
  
Chapter 4: The tournament part 1  
  
Link awoke from his dreams feeling very refreshed. He gathered his equipment and exited his room. He found the others waiting for him in the lobby of the hotel. Zelda nodded in his direction. "Are you ready?" she asked.  
  
Link nodded to her and his fellow warriors. "Yeah. Now, let's do this.  
  
Everyone nodded and headed out the door. The all found the village to be quite busy for it being so early in the day. People were hanging banners everywhere and some performers were practicing in the streets.  
  
But the most attention was faced at the giant stadium that was located right in the center of town. Everyone was pouring in and those who could not find a seat had taken to the rooftops to get a view of the action below.  
  
There was a small door off to the side that was marked, 'fighter entrance'. Link and the others entered through the door, Robotnik with some difficulty considering that he was piloting his egg walker.  
  
As the entered, they were greeted by some officials. They were lead to the fighter's common room where they could stay between fights. It also lead to the hospital wing where they would be treated if their injuries were serious.  
  
The mayor was there and he began to speak. "I would like to thank all of you who had decided to participate in our tournament. This is the biggest roster that we have had in a long time with sixteen registered participants."  
  
Mewtwo cleared his throat. "Forgive me for interrupting, but by my count, there are only fifteen combatants in this room at the moment."  
  
The mayor counted and, true to what Mewtwo had said, there were only fifteen warriors in the room. Then, they all remembered about the fighter who had sent the letter explaining that he would be appearing today.  
  
Link, who was wondering about this warrior suddenly heard a voice in his head. 'I guess that it is time.'  
  
Before Link had time to wonder what that meant, he felt an unbearable pain in his head. Dropping to the floor, he began to yell. This odd behavior worried and startled his companions. But all Link knew was the pain.  
  
Link had his eyes closed. He could slightly hear the cries of his comrades through the torture that was steadily increasing.  
  
Thenn... it stopped altogether. Link could no longer hear his companions and he opened his eyes. Almost instantly, he saw the reason why. Hovering above everyone in the room was the same entity he had seen in his dreams. It still had that odd purple jester outfit on and the red gem on his chest was glowing slightly.  
  
The creature with an odd childish face touched down to the ground and offered its hand to Link. Link took it, a little cautiously.  
  
After Link was on his feet, the mayor said, "Who are you?"  
  
The creature held up his hands for silence as he grabbed his head with his free hand. Everyone watched in shock as it twisted its head in a full circle. Several cracks could be heard.  
  
"Oi! Traveling from Nightopia to reality will give you such a crick in the neck!" he announced.  
  
He faced the mayor before stating, "Howdy! The name is NiGHTS. I trust that you and your friends all received my letter that I would be arriving late?"  
  
The mayor nodded. Link looked at Robotnik and asked, "Where did that guy come from?"  
  
Robotnik leaned down and said, "Straight out of your head."  
  
Link was stunned to hear this, but found that it was logical. The pain he had felt was obviously when he had decided to exit Link's head.  
  
NiGHTS turned to Link and the others. "I guess that I owe y'all an explanation, don't I?"  
  
Inuyasha said, "Damn right you do!"  
  
NiGHTS ignored this and began his explanation. "As I have told you, my name is NiGHTS. I am a special agent from a place called Nightopia, or the land of dreams. I felt some disturbing forces coming from your world and I decided that I needed to investigate. But, the only way to do that was to get into a person's subconscious and exit their mind."  
  
Shadow, who had not been very interested until this point, came forward. "Why did you choose Link of all people and how do you enter a person's subconscious?"  
  
NiGHTS grinned. "Well, they don't call Nightopia the land of dreams for nothing. I have the ability to travel through special portals and enter a person's dream. That way, I can see exactly what they are dreaming about and I can even manipulate the dream in some ways. As for your other question, a normal person could have been killed if I had tried to exit their mind. But Link is much stronger in mind and body than others. I knew that I could exit his mind without fear of killing him."  
  
Rouge decided to turn the conversation to a more serious matter. "So, what's this about a disturbance?"  
  
NiGHTS's face turned serious. "Unfortunately, someone has been tampering with the forces that keep my world and yours in balance. I think that it may be someone in this tournament. If they manage to shatter what is known as the fourth wall, then everything is going to go topsy-turvey on us! We're talking things like pianos raining from the sky, cows laying eggs, vegetables trying to eat people..."  
  
Yusuke cut him off. "We get the idea, dream man."  
  
NiGHTS nodded. "You see my point then."  
  
Zidane nodded. "Don't worry about it. We'll give you a hand. This isn't the first time we've had to save the world."  
  
The conversation would have continued, but a tournament official came into the room and called out, "Would Inuyasha and Yusuke please report to the ring? Your match is about to begin."  
  
Inuyasha and Yusuke eyeballed each other before following the official out into the ring. It was quite big as far as rings go and could probably host about thirty fighters in it at once and they would still have room to move around.  
  
The approached the center of the ring and each took a fighter stance.  
  
An announcer walked up the them and said, "Welcome one and all to our yearly fighter festival. We have quite a roster for you today. But, you will have plenty of time to meet the other people later. Please let me introduce our first two combatants, Inuyasha the half-demon and Yusuke the spirit detective!"  
  
The crowd cheered for the two as the remained still, waiting for the sound to start.  
  
The announcer raised his hands and let it dropped. Obviously this was the signal to start. The two charged at each other feircly. Yusuke was glad that Robotnik had managed to get Inuyasha to leave his sword at the hotel.  
  
Their fists clashed and began to pound against each other as every blow was matched.  
  
******  
  
Link and the others were watching from the sidelines. "Mewtwo nodded in approval. This is going to be interesting. These two have been rivals ever since they met. Maybe this fight will prove who is superior."  
  
Shadow, who was looking at Mewtwo, stated, "Well, this match may end up interesting, but our match is going to be a no contest on who will win."  
  
Mewtwo smirked. "Shadow, don't be so hard on yourself. There is no doubt in my mind that you will put up a good fight, but don't doubt yourself so much."  
  
Shadow's eyes narrowed dangerously. Despite this, he did not respond and turned back to the fight.  
  
******  
  
Back in the ring, the fighters were really starting to bring out their full force. They had continued to fight with their fists, but they were now bringing their feet into play. They were all punching and kicking.  
  
Then, Yusuke jumped back and launched his spirit gun.  
  
Inuyasha jumped into the air to avoid this. Then, he began to desend. As he neared Yusuke, he shouted out, "Iron reaver soul stealer!"  
  
Yusuke jumped out of the way as Inuyasha's claw connected with the spot where he was standing. The result was Inuyasha cutting through about half- way through the concrete with his claw.  
  
As he got back up, Yusuke ran up and grabbed Inuyasha by the shoulders. Inuyasha mimicked him. They started knocking their heads together with surprising force.  
  
Yusuke was determined not to give in to the extreme pain he was receiving at the moment. Inuyasha felt the same way. They were rivals and probably would always will be. Even after this match, they would never stop arguing who was best.  
  
Finally, they broke away from each other, staggering a bit due to the amount of head damage they had sustained. The both charged at each other again, leaving their fighting sense behind them.  
  
They each aimed a punch at the other's face. At the last possible second, Yusuke blasted a spirit gun attack. Inuyasha was caught off-guard by this attack and tried to dodge, but was unsuccessful. The blast impacted and threw him back.  
  
What surprised Yusuke and many others, was that he stood up after that. He chuckled. "Your not the only one that has special powers."  
  
Inuyasha put his fingers into one of the cuts he had aquired from the blast and drew a bit of blood. "Blades of blood!" he shouted.  
  
Several red blades flew from his fingertips and the impacted a surprised Yusuke, who was blown back about the same length that Inuyasha had been by his blast.  
  
Yusuke stood up and they regarded each other. Yusuke laughed and began to charge up another blast. "Inuyasha, wanna find out which one of our attacks is stronger."  
  
Inuyasha pulled more blood from his body and said, "I'm game."  
  
They both launched their attacks at the exact same time. The attacks collided. But, to everyone's surprise, Inuyasha's blades of blood just passed right through Yusuke's attack!  
  
Both of them shielded themselves as the attacks collided with them, blowing them both out of the ring.  
  
AS the smoke cleared, everyone could plainly see that both of them were out of the ring.  
  
The announcer stepped up to the center of the ring. "Ladies and gentlemen, both combatants have landed outside of the ring at the same time. I'm afraid that this match must be called as a draw. Both fighters are eliminated."  
  
"WHAT!?!?!" shouted Inuyasha and Yusuke at the same time. Despite the injuries they had, they still had the energy to start to argue about who fell out of the ring first.  
  
Rouge sighed. "Typical. It looks like they are both equal."  
  
Everyone nodded. This match proved that they were equal in nearly every state, every ability, even temper.  
  
As the two fighters argued on their way to the hospital wing, the announcer said, "Well, with that turn of events, we are left with fourteen fighters! There will be a ten minute recess before the second match."  
  
The fighters headed back into the common room to check on their friends and to wait for the second match of the tournament. But, they all knew that they now had something else to look out for as NiGHTS had said...  
  
_____________________________________________________________  
  
Not a very good fight, I know. But I did introduce the first of the new warriors as promised. I'm really surprised that you guys couldn't guess who NiGHTS was. Aside from Sonic the hedgehog, NiGHTS was, and still is, considered to be Yuji Naka's most famous creation. Read and review! 


	5. The tournament part 2

Hello. I be updating again. Like I said, I'm trying to get a few chapters up while I am still on vacation. But, that is all I can say for right now. Anyway, I have already planned out how the tournament will flow, so you really shouldn't ask me to make a match turn out one way or the other. Just wanted to bring this up before people started sending me reviews only filled with reasons why one person should win this match. Now, on with the story.  
  
Chapter 5: The tournament part 2  
  
Inuyasha and Yusuke could still be heard arguing in the medical ward even after nearly five minutes of rest. It wouldn't make difference though. The judge's decision was final.  
  
Link couldn't help but smirk at how childish his friends were acting about this. He looked over to the two schedualed for the next fight. Zelda and Robotnik.  
  
Then, an official came in. "Hello, everyone. I am here to inform you that the next match will begin momentarily. Would the next fighters please come to the ring?"  
  
Robotnik stood up and extended his hand to Zelda. She shook it in good will. "Good luck to you."  
  
Zelda nodded. "Yes, you two my friend."  
  
Robotnik nodded in response and headed outside to prepare his machine. Since there was no rule against it, he was allowed to use any weapon he had as long as no one was killed.  
  
Zelda stood up and was about to head out to the ring when Link took a light hold on her arm. She turned around and looked at him briefly before he planted a quick kiss on her lips.  
  
When the broke off, she asked, "what was that for?"  
  
Link smirked. "That was for luck. Besides, do I really need a reason to kiss my wife?"  
  
Zelda giggled. Rouge walked up and held up her fist. "Go out there and give him trouble."  
  
Zelda nodded and pounded Rouge's fist with her own. "You can count on it."  
  
Zelda headed out to the ring to find Robotnik waiting for her. She stepped up onto the ring and walked to the middle where Robotnik's mech was waiting.  
  
The announcer stepped up. "Alright, after that first exciting match, I'm sure that we are ready for another!"  
  
The crowd cheered as the announcer said the names of the fighters. "Please welcome a super genius with an I.Q. of 300, Ivo Robotnik!"  
  
Robotnik raised his hands out of his mech and shouted "Yosh!" as the crowd cheered for him.  
  
The announcer nodded. "And next is a feminine fighter from Hyrule. Give a warm welcome to Zelda!"  
  
Zelda blushed slightly as the crowd cheered and she could distinctly hear some of the males in the audience whistling.  
  
The announcer retreated to a safer distance before saying, "With that said, let the match begin!"  
  
********  
  
Back near the entrance to the fighters lounge, the others watched. Zidane looked on with a little interest. But, with Inuyasha and Yusuke out of commission for the time being, he would have to annoy someone else. "So, who are you thinking will win this match, Mewtwo?"  
  
Mewtwo continued to survey the two fighters in the ring. "I'm not really sure. Both of them are very clever fighters. With that mech of his, Robotnik has the smarts and the power, but Zelda is extremely quick and agile, so either one of them could win."  
  
Rouge nodded from her spot beside Zidane. "I just hope they can give each other a good match."  
  
Zidane Gave her is trademark perverted grin and said, "Well, if a good match is what you want, then you can follow me to the bedroom."  
  
Rouge growled and brought her palm down on his unprotected face. There was a resounding slap followed by a moan of pain.  
  
Link chuckled as Zidane rubbed his face. "You'd better shape up a bit before our match."  
  
Zidane stopped rubbing the red spot on his face and smirked. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be."  
  
********  
  
Zelda backflipped away as Robotnik started firing round after round at her with his machine gun. He had replaced all the bullets with blanks. They may not be lethal, but they still hurt like hell.  
  
He laughed. "You'd better keep running, Zelda! I have enough ammo in this machine to keep this up all day!"  
  
Zelda smirked. She drew her trusty chain and began running at him. She kept leaping from side to side to avoid being hit by his bullets.  
  
Robotnik judged the time it would take her to get to him and pressed the button for his melee weapon. It lashed out of it's case at her.  
  
Zelda crouched just as it was about to hit her. She quickly lashed out with her chain. It impacted with his melee weapon, breaking it apart.  
  
Robotnik growled as Zelda hopped away. "I'll make you pay for that!"  
  
Zelda stuck her tounge out at him from a safer distance. "Let's see you try!" she taunted.  
  
Robotnik smirked. It was time to try out that new attack of his. "Right, let's do this! Lock on target and fire!"  
  
The Vulcan cannon launched a large energy blast at her. She sidestepped the attack with ease. "You missed!" she informed him.  
  
Robotnik laughed. "This attack is like a wedge, girl. It has backspin!"  
  
Zelda wondered what he meant about that. Before she could ponder what this meant, she felt something slam into her from behind. She was flung forward where Robotnik gave her a swift kick with his mech.  
  
She landed and managed to raise herself. "What the hell was that?" she asked.  
  
Robotnik laughed again. "That was my new attack, the homing energy ball."  
  
Zelda nodded. "Quite clever."  
  
Robonik nodded as he started to move his mech forward. "Now you know why I am the best!"  
  
Zelda smirked. "But, I am not without my own tricks." She reached into a secret pocket that she had in her suit and pulled out a number of throwing darts. She let them fly.  
  
Robotnik had now way of blocking them as the impacted his Vulcan cannon. The cannon exploded upon the impact of the attack.  
  
Robotnik was really getting ticked off by her persistence. "This isn't the end!"  
  
********  
  
Shadow smirked. "It is good to see that the doctor hasn't changed that much aside from the fact that he isn't evil anymore."  
  
Kenshin nodded. "Shadow, exactly how long did you know Robotnik?"  
  
Shadow frowned. "That information is on a need-to-know basis. You don't really need to know, do you?"  
  
Kenshin decided to let the subject drop. It was obvious that he would not get any answers out of the ebony hedgehog. Instead, he turned to Rouge, who had moved a good distance away from Zidane.  
  
Kenshin asked, "Is that creature always like this?"  
  
Rouge sighed and nodded. "He isn't as cold as he was when I first met him, but it is hard for him to trust anyone and he is having a hard time letting go of the past."  
  
Kenshin nodded and, seeing that this conversation was causing some discomfort in the bat, changed the subject. "What do you think about Zidane?"  
  
Rouge was caught off guard by this question. After she got over the initial shock, she answered. "Well, aside from the fact that he is a total perv who is only out to get me in bed, he is pretty nice."  
  
Kenshin smirked. "Well, from what Zelda has told me, you think that he has soft hands." Rouge blushed, remembering when he had first met Link and his friends, what Zidane had done when she was knocked out.  
  
Rouge snapped out of it immediately. "That is my point."  
  
Kenshin Shook his head. "From what I have seen, he is only pushing this on you so fast and so hard because he thinks that you are encouraging him. That's what happens when you slap him. If you simply ask him to lay off or slow it down and get to know each other a little better, You could become good friends."  
  
Rouge smiled and nodded. "Okay, I'll give it a try."  
  
********  
  
Back in the ring, Robotnik was looking over his situation. He had lost his melee weapon and his Vulcan cannon, but he still had his solar beam, his missile launcher, and his machine gun.  
  
He smirked. "Try this on for size!" he said as he launched out of his missiles.  
  
Zelda saw this coming, jumped into the air and threw another one of her darts at it, causing it to explode.  
  
Robotnik raised his machinegun and fired off a round of blanks. This time, there was no way for Zelda to dodge. She took every shot straight on. Letting out a small cry of pain and surprise, Zelda landed on her back.  
  
She raised herself off the ground and stood ready. "I'm not gonna give up that easily, Ivo."  
  
Robotnik nodded. "Well, then there is only one way for me to finish this."  
  
Zelda saw a small compartment open, signifying that he was going to launch a very powerful weapon. "Charging solar laser!" he shouted.  
  
Zelda was not going to let him have this chance. She threw her final dart. It landed in the dead center of the solar laser cannon.  
  
Instantly, Robotnik began to panic. "Oh no! My power is going down! That dart caused a major power backup! All of my energy weapons are down and out, my machine gun can't fire and internal engine is almost completely down!"  
  
Zelda smirked and jumped up with her chain out, ready to come down on Robotnik. "This is it!" she shouted.  
  
Robotnik nodded. "It is for you!" he shouted as he pressed another button on his control panel. Imagine Zelda's surprise when a boxing glove exactly identical to Robotnik's last melee weapon that she destroyed. It impacted her right in the stomach. The attack was so great, it sent her right out of the ring."  
  
Robotnik managed to move his mech out of the ring and over to the exit before heading back to where Zelda was. "Sorry about that."  
  
Zelda shook her hand. "Don't worry about it. We both knew that one of us had to lose, right?"  
  
Robotnik nodded and helped her to her feet. The announcer came to the ring and said, "Now, that is what I call sportsmanship. Let's give them a big hand folks! There will be another short recess before our next match."  
  
Robotnik helped her over to the others. She looked at Link a little hesitantly. "Sorry."  
  
Link looked at her quizzically. "For what?" he asked.  
  
"I lost."  
  
Link shook his head. "It doesn't matter. This is just a friendly compitition. It's not like our lives depend on it."  
  
NiGHTS cleared his throat. "Actually, if the guy who is messing with dream world and reality is here, it may end up that way."  
  
Robotnik shook his head. "Well, if you will excuse me, I have to go and attend to my mech if I am to have a chance against the other fighters in the next round of the tournament."  
  
As he shuffled off, Zidane and Link looked at each other realizing that they were next. They smirked at each other and headed back into the lounge for a few minutes rest before their fight.  
  
_____________________________________________________________  
  
Another chapter up and running. This is another long one, but all of mine seem to keep getting longer and longer. Not that that is a bad thing, mind you. In the next chapter, I'm gonna try and throw in a bit of romance in the beginning. Until then, R/R! 


	6. The tournament part 3

Once again, I am here to update. I don't really have anything that interesting to say, so I'll just send a shout-out. If a writer out there named Mura-sha or someone who knows her is reading this, let me just say that I have been reading your stories. In one of them, a few of the chapters embodied the plot for one of my stories, Bad boy, Bad boy. Now don't think that I am complaining, but if someone does use anything along my plotlines in his or her story, I would like a least an honorable mention. Once again, I am not mad. In fact I am quite flattered that she would use my humor in her story. Just, let me know next time.  
  
PS: Just to let you know, Mura, I am working on a story along the lines of the one that you have been working on where Inuyasha gets chibified.  
  
Chapter 6: The tournament part 3  
  
Everyone was still in the fighter lounge and Inuyasha and Yusuke had decided to join them again. They were still arguing about who should have won the first match. It seemed obvious that they would not let that drop for a long time.  
  
Zidane and Link were fully aware that their match was next. Zidane walked up to him and wished him good luck. Link nodded. "I will see you in the ring."  
  
Zelda walked up to Link and said, "You gave me a kiss for luck, so now it's my turn." She gave Link a quick kiss on the mouth.  
  
He nodded. "Thanks. I have a feeling that I'll be needing that."  
  
Zidane looked back towards Rouge. "Well, what about me?"  
  
Zidane puckered his lips near Rouge's face. Rouge responded by grabbing his face with her hand. "Listen, buster, once you get out of this match, you and I are gonna have a talk about your behavior towards me. Got it?"  
  
With Rouge still clutching his face, Zidane nodded. Rouge's expression softened as she let Zidane's face go. She moved her face closer to his as she said, "But for now, I'll honor your reqest."  
  
Zidane was surprised when she pressed her lips to his. Zidane could feel her tounge slip into his mouth.  
  
This caused several reactions out of the other fighters, ranging from whistles to sighs to gagging. Shadow even chuckled a bit at the scene. With all the times that he had worked with Rouge, one of the greatest spies, treasure hunters, and thieves in existence, he would have never guessed that she would actually fall in love with someone.  
  
The kiss broke off as the official came in and said, "Would Link and Zidane please report to the ring for the third match of the tournament. Also, I must insist that all sensual acts be held off until after the fights."  
  
Rouge and even Zidane blushed. Zidane smirked at her and followed Link and the official out into the ring.  
  
They stepped up and approached the center of the ring. The announcer nodded. "Alright, fight fans! This is the start of the third match of the tournament. So far, we have seen to smashing dynamite matches. Let's see if these two new fighters can show off just as much as the last ones. First, please welcome the swordsman extrordenare, Link!"  
  
Link drew his sword and brandished it as the crowd cheered. He also placed his trusty shield on his arm.  
  
The announcer turned to Zidane and said, "Now, welcome a knife fighter with a serious attitude and a total ladies man, Zidane!"  
  
Zidane held up his hands and gave the peace symbol with both hands. He received several cheers from females in the audience. Zidane reached down and drew out two of his daggers from their holsters.  
  
The announcer retreated to a safe distance and shouted, "Contestants ready?"  
  
Link raised his shield and drew his sword back. Zidane raised his daggers in a classic fighter stance.  
  
The announcer raised his hand and dropped it, shouting, "BEGIN!"  
  
Zidane took the offensive and rushed towards Link. Zidane began lashing out with his daggers, trying to get Link to lower his shield.  
  
Link held his shield as steady as possible. Zidane was not holding anything back, that was for sure. Link kept backing up as Zidane continued to lash out.  
  
Zidane smirked. If he could just keep this up, he could push Link out of the ring before long.  
  
Link must have realized this because he pushed back with his shield, ending Zidane's constant swift swing strategy. Link swung his sword in a vertical arc.  
  
Zidane raised up his daggers and blocked the incoming blade and pushed it back. He then swung himself around, attempting another attack with his daggers.  
  
Link had to bend himself way back in order to dodge the spin. Link was lucky to keep his balance that long. Link picked himself up and slashed again.  
  
Zidane backflipped out of the way as the blade came at him. He smirked at his current opponent. "Not bad, Link. I can tell that you're giving me your best."  
  
Link nodded and said, "I can say the same for you, Zidane. I told you that this would be interesting."  
  
********  
  
Katama watch the two battle with interest. "Well, those two fight as if they weren't friends anymore. I ask you all, what becomes of a friendship once you are in the ring?"  
  
Kenshin looked at his opponent. "That is where you are wrong. Those two may be fighting at their best, but it is their friendship that fuels this fight. They are trying to show each other what they can do and nothing more."  
  
While this was going on, NiGHTS was hovering near Rouge. "So, how was that small frencher you shared with Zidane earlier?" he asked.  
  
Rouge blushed a bit but managed to growl. "Mind your own buissness, bud. Besides, how did you know it was a French kiss anyway?"  
  
NiGHTS chuckled. "Because you just told me."  
  
Rouge's blush nearly doubled. She could not believe that she fell for that old trick. But, she had to admit that NiGHTS had a point. She had enjoyed that little kiss that she had shared with Zidane.  
  
********  
  
Back in the ring, Link was attempting to gain an offensive advantage against Zidane, who was back on his old strategy of hammering away on Link's shield. Then, Link noticed that Zidane needed to pause for a second in between every two thrusts that he made.  
  
Link waited and analyzed Zidane's attack pattern before he made his move. After Zidane's second thrust, Link moved his shield out of the way and made a thrust at Zidane.  
  
Zidane dodged, but he did receive a small cut on his right arm. He just dismissed it and continued to hammer at Link's shield.  
  
Then, Link realized what a cucial error that Zidane was making. His attacks were great, but he was only expecting counter attacks from Link's blade. Link only had one shot at this.  
  
Zidane kept backing Link up until they were right at the edge of the ring. Zidane, confident that victory was his, lashed out one more time.  
  
Link bent back like he had done to avoid Zidane's whirlwind attack, but kept his shield up. Zidane found himself being hoisted into the air on top of Link shield. Link tipped the shield out of the ring and Zidane helplessly slid off and out.  
  
There was a bunch of cheering from the crowd. Link jumped out of the ring and extended a hand to Zidane. Zidane took it and shook it. "I tried my best and I have no regrets."  
  
Link smiled. "Your style is effective, but it has its limits. You never saw that shield tip coming."  
  
They both laughed as they headed back to the fighting quarters with the others. Rouge pulled Zidane to the side into a special dug-out made for private conversations.  
  
She began to speak. "Well, that was a pretty good match, Zidane."  
  
Zidane moved a hand closer to Rouge's leg as he said, "I may have lost, but at least it wasn't a total waste."  
  
Rouge noticed his hand and quickly slapped it away. "Zidane, that is enough. I need you to tell me right now if you are only a lecher to me because you have feelings for me or if it is all just perverted lust."  
  
Zidane frowned. "Rouge, I would never try that on a woman. If you really want the know the truth, I only act this way because I want you to notice me."  
  
Rouge sighed. "Zidane, I do notice you, it's just... well, I just don't feel comfortable around someone who wants to get my attention that way."  
  
Zidane took her hand in his. "Rouge, please. I'm sorry if I seem like an unbearable lecher sometimes and I promise to stop if you just tell me that you feel the same way about me that I feel about you."  
  
Rouge smirked. "That depends. Do you love me?"  
  
Zidane nodded. "With all my heart and most of my lungs."  
  
Rouge smiled. "Then the answer is certainly yes."  
  
The two looked longingly into each other's eyes and were pulled into a passionate kiss, even more breath-taking than the first one.  
  
They both headed back to the lounge after deciding to let the others find out on their own time. Zidane had been meaning to test how ignorant Inuyasha was anyway.  
  
_____________________________________________________________  
  
It's short, I know. But I am just so tired and I wanted to throw in some fluff early on. This is my first time working with a crossover pairing. If you don't like it, then tough beans! This is my fic and I'll do with it what I please! R/R and I will get next chapter up shortly.  
  
PS: As mentioned in the first author's note in this chapter, I really suggest reading Maru-Sha's fics. She specializes in humor and they are quite funny. 


	7. The tournament part 4

Okay, maybe I wasn't very clear about something last chapter. When I was talking about Maru-Sha, I meant that she was the one who was copying me. In one of her stories, my story is repeated almost word for word. When I said I had a story in my head similar to hers, that is all it is: SIMILAR. I would never, ever, on my honor as a writer of fanfiction, copy or plagerize another person's work and claim it as my own. That would be just wrong.  
  
Now, with that out of the way, I would just like to tell you all ahead of time that the tournament in this fic is not the whole thing. In fact, it is basically the tip of the iceberg. So, if any of you get bored with the tournament part of this fic and decide to stop reading, I will understand. I just wanted to let you know this because, due to the tournament, this is going to be one of my longest fics to date. Well, I'll stop ranting and whining so you can read now.  
  
PS: This is a battle that I have been looking forward to writing since the start of the tournament, so tell me how well I do with it.  
  
Chapter 8: The tournament part 4  
  
Inuyasha scoffed. "Well, who didn't see that coming?" he asked.  
  
Rouge shot him a dirty glare as she sat next to her newfound love, Zidane. It did feel a bit strange to her, being in love with someone outside her own species, but she dismissed those thoughts. Zidane felt the same way and he acted just the same way as Rouge.  
  
Yusuke noticed that their spirit energy was mingling slightly. To him, this could only mean one thing. "So, when's the wedding?" he asked with a smirk.  
  
Rouge and Zidane seemed mildly surprised that Yusuke of all people would pick up on their relationship so quickly.  
  
Kenshin nodded. "I have been wondering why your auras are shining so brightly when you are in each others company."  
  
Rouge and Zidane blushed as everyone laughed. Mewtwo surprisingly was the first to offer support. "Well, as sudden or as strange as it is, I wish you both a happy and long relationship."  
  
Shadow made a few gagging sounds. Link turned to the ebony hedgehog. "I guess love just isn't your thing, eh Shadow?"  
  
Shadow shook his head. "Believe me, stuff like that only leads to trouble. Your have nowhere to go but down from here."  
  
Rouge just shook her head and drew her beloved into a passionate kiss. Inuyasha turned away. Like Shadow, such acts of affection disgusted him, but at the same time, he knew that he secretly longed for someone to share those pleasures with.  
  
Eggman came into the lounge covered in oil and grease and an assortment of other liquids and such. He wiped his brow. "Well, my egg walker is all fixed up and I even had time to install a few new features. By the way, they would like Shadow and Mewtwo to report to the ring for your match at this time."  
  
Mewtwo and Shadow cast a few disturbing looks at each other as they headed out towards the ring. They entered, fully aware of the stares they were receiving from the audience. They could also hear some whispers out in the crowd as well.  
  
The announcer cleared his throat. "Well, I am pleased to announce the fighters for our fourth match of the day. Please welcome two big guys with little pasts, Mewtwo and Shadow!"  
  
Both of them took a fighter stance, ignoring the cheers that the audience was giving them.  
  
The announcer dropped his hand, signaling them to start. Shadow took the offensive and charge at Mewtwo with incredible speed. Mewtwo had not anticipated his opponent to posses such astounding speed. Mewtwo managed to jump out of the way, but still got nicked in the leg slightly.  
  
Shadow turned around in time to see Mewtwo's tail coming at him. Shadow skillfully jumped into the air, avoiding Mewtwo's tail. He pushed off, attempting to ram Mewtwo.  
  
Mewtwo managed to activate his barrier. Shadow impacted it and fell to the ground. He managed to land on his feet and showed very little sign of injury.  
  
Shadow smirked. "Well, obviously this match isn't going to get very exciting if we keep this up. Allow me to make things a little more enjoyable."  
  
Mewtwo had no time to dwell on what he meant by that. Shadow held up his arm and shouted, "Chaos Spear!"  
  
Several giant arrows that were made out of yellow energy shot straight at Mewtwo. Mewtwo was slightly surprised by this attack, but reacted quickly. He dodged the first few by hovering to left and the right. The last few impacted his barrier. But, the force of the impact was enough to send him flying back slightly.  
  
Shadow ran after Mewtwo, intent on taking this opportunity to do some major damage. Mewtwo had other plans, however. He quickly charged up a shadow ball and fired it at Shadow.  
  
Now it was Shadow's turn to be surprised. Shadow jumped up out of the way just as it impacted the ground. Mewtwo smirked and his eyes began to glow blue.  
  
Shadow felt all of his limbs harden and he was caught in air. He looked to Mewtwo who was approaching at a pretty fast velocity. Shadow smirked. 'Clever, my psychic friend, but not clever enough.'  
  
As Mewtwo approached, his fists began to glow and crackle with a bright purple light. He reared back, ready to strike down his foe with all of his might, only to receive a big shock.  
  
As soon as Mewtwo was near enough, Shadow kicked up with one of his feet, impacting Mewtwo right in the chin. Shadow began to drop, but He had made an error. Mewtwo was dropping as well, but the impact of the kick spun him around in air. Mewtwo's tail came up and hit Shadow right in the chin.  
  
They both flew apart and hit the ground with such force, it left a large indent where each of them had landed. Mewtwo sat up with some difficulty. "How did you manage to counter the effects of my telekenisis? That ability should have kept you frozen in place until I released you."  
  
Shadow smirked as he sat up with the same amount of difficulty and rubbed his sore jaw. "Well, I have a special type of energy within me that can counter any energy that you might possibly posses."  
  
Mewtwo stood up. "I highly doubt you will be able to counter my next ability."  
  
Shadow stood up and smirked at that comment. "We shall see. I was planning on a pretty big attack myself."  
  
They both outstretched their hands. Shadow shouted out, "Chaos control!" as Mewtwo shouted, "Time teleportation!"  
  
They both remained calm as everything around them seemed to freeze. Mewtwo crossed his arms in mild amusement. "So, you have an attack that can freeze time for a few minutes as well."  
  
Shadow nodded, mimicking Mewtwo's arm cross. "Yes, I do posses an attack similar to the one that you pulled off. As long as we are both in our own time limbo, let's finish this."  
  
Mewtwo made a swaying motion with hands. "Ladies first."  
  
********  
  
As this was happening, the other competitors watched in aw. Zelda managed to get over her shock before saying, "They vanished!"  
  
Katama shook its head. "You are mistaken. The techniques that they implored just now are very difficult to pull of. The attacks send the user into a time limbo of sorts where time moves much faster. In other words, they are theoretically still fighting, but faster than a beam of light to our eyes. To them, we are simply standing still."  
  
NiGHTS looked at Kamata with interest. Only powerful entities were supposed to know about those types of abilities. "And how, pray tell, do you know about those attacks?"  
  
Katama looked back at NiGHTS. "I've heard a few things."  
  
NiGHTS nodded, bug continued to stare at Katama with a very scrutinizing gaze. He didn't like that answer much, but he would have to deal with it for right now.  
  
Link noticed this and asked NiGHTS, "What's the matter, NiGHTS?"  
  
NiGHTS turned his gaze away from Katama and said, "I don't like that guy at all. Nothing feels right around him, his aura, his attitude, even his voice. I'm picking up some really negative vibes from all around him."  
  
Zelda had been listening in. "Do you think he, or she, may be the one who is messing with the barrier between your world and ours?"  
  
NiGHTS shook his head. "It's still to early to tell and it could be dangerous to assume something like that without sufficient proof."  
  
********  
  
While this was going on, inside the limbo of time, a ferocious battle was raging.  
  
Shadow and Mewtwo knew that they could not use their energy attacks because their consentration was already cut in half by their efforts to keep themselves inside the limbo.  
  
Therefore, they both had to rely specifically on their physical abilities. Both of them only had average attack strength in their bodies. But, Shadow still possessed his amazing speed and Mewtwo still retained his ability to hover.  
  
They launched at each other with the most powerful physical attacks that they could muster. Mewtwo thrust a fist forward. It collided with Shadow's and sparks could be seen jumping from the sheer force of the collision.  
  
Shadow growled. "There is no way that I'm gonna let you beat me."  
  
Mewtwo growled back. "Well, I never expected you to go easy on me in the first place, but using my own damn technique is just about as low as you can go."  
  
Shadow jumped back. "What the hell are you talking about? That attack is my own!"  
  
Mewtwo just took off into the air again. "Baa! I have no time for idle chit- chat. I'm going to take you down right her and now!"  
  
Shadow jumped up in response. Using his strong legs, Shadow threw a powerful roundhouse kick at Mewtwo. Mewtwo countered by lashing out with his tail. Both attack met their targets, sending the defender and attack alike to the ground.  
  
They both had gotten to the point where they no longer cared for rational thought. They both stood up and locked fists as if in a game of bloody knuckles.  
  
Next, they started bashing their heads together with a force strong enough to penetrate reinforced concrete.  
  
Each of them were oblivious to everything except each other and the constantly growing pain in their skulls. As a result, they no longer had the consentration to keep themselves in limbo. They were once again in plain view of everyone.  
  
Everyone looked on, aghast at the changes in the fighters since they had seem them last. The fighters were now beginning to draw blood from their skulls.  
  
Finally, Mewtwo and Shadow reared back their heads just as far as they could go. Mewtwo exclaimed, "This one's gonna be bloody murder on the noggin!"  
  
With a final battle cry, the fighters let their heads fly forward. Their head clashed. For a second, there seemed to be no change in either of them.  
  
Then, shadow fell to the ground. His head impacted the ground, causing a small crater to be formed. Mewtwo sighed and sat down, holding his head. "Damn, and I thought Yusuke and Inuyasha had thick skulls, but this guy takes the cake."  
  
The announcer came forward. "Shadow has been knocked out. The winner is Mewtwo!"  
  
The crowd cheered. Mewtwo looked at Shadow's body. He stirred slightly. "Mewtwo, we were almost perfectly matched. I know the only reason that you won."  
  
Mewtwo tilted his head. "Why?" he asked.  
  
Shadow chuckled. "Your body was longer than mine, so you had the ability to bend back further, therefore, you were able to exert a greater force after we clashed.  
  
Mewtwo laughed. "So our match was nothing but a fluke?"  
  
Shadow nodded. "Seems that way. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need a nice long nap."  
  
Shadow passed out. A few of the tournament officials jumped up and carried Shadow off to the medical ward. Mewtwo managed to lift himself and walk back to his friends.  
  
NiGHTS was the first to speak. "Remind my to stay on your good side from now on."  
  
Mewtwo nodded. "You can count on it."  
  
After saying that, he promptly fainted.  
  
_____________________________________________________________  
  
Could you tell that I was looking forward to this chapter? Yes, I have always wanted to pit my two favorite ultimate life forms against each other and this was my chance. I hope that you all liked it. The next chapter will probably be up sometime next week. Until then, R/R please! 


	8. The tournament part 5

Sorry that it took so long for me to update. Well, it seemed like a long time to me. Anyway, after that climactic battle with the two ultimate life forms, we move on to what I hope will be a slightly saner fight between consume and NiGHTS. Some people have been asking me what game NiGHTS is from. He is from 'NiGHTS into dreams, the first 3-dimentional game for the Sega Saturn.  
  
Chapter 9: The tournament part 5  
  
Shadow was now in the medical wing. Oddly, he had not suffered a concussion. But, the rest of his body would need time to recover from the shock he received.  
  
Meanwhile, back in the fighters lounge, NiGHTS was stretching for his match with the slightly odd person known only as Consume. He was very consentrated. He knew that Consume had nothing to do with the problems between his world and this, but he still had to progress in the tournament if he hoped to find out what was going on.  
  
Link came up to him and extended his hand. "Good luck in your match."  
  
NiGHTS finished up his stretches and shook Link's hand. "Thanks. It's great to know that I have some support in this."  
  
Link nodded. Rouge came up to him. "You'll be glad to know you have all of our support with this mission of yours." Zidane came up to Rouge. "Yeah, we're all part of the same army when it comes to saving this world.  
  
Everyone chuckled as Zidane gave a mock salute. Consume did not seem to share in the marry-making. "How pathetic. I'll wipe that smirk right off that clown face of yours."  
  
Nights smiled, showing off his teeth, and flashed the peace sign at Consume. "Yeah, well your going to have to catch this clown before you can do anything to his face." He laughed at his own joke as the official entered.  
  
He cleared his throat. "Well, it appears that it is time to start. Would Consume and NiGHTS please come to the ring?"  
  
As NiGHTS exited the lounge, he flashed the thumbs up symbol.  
  
They entered the ring and the announcer nodded in approval. "All right folks! After that amazing display of talent and raw determination, we should expect no less from these two fighters. Please welcome the mysterious fighter, Consume!"  
  
The crowd cheered, but Consume payed them no mind and just spat on the ground.  
  
The announcer nodded and said, "Also please welcome the flying acrobat wonder, NiGHTS!"  
  
NiGHTS smiled and jumped into the air. He hovered for a bit before doing a triple backflip and a double airial cartwheel.  
  
He touched down again with absolutely no effort. Consume took a fighter stance. NiGHTS couldn't care less and just crossed his legs while sitting on air.  
  
Consume looked at him. "How can you be this laid back when you know that they survival of two worlds depends on you winning this tournament?"  
  
NiGHTS gave a lazy yawn and answered, "Well, if I get too uptight about it, I'm bound to fail. As long as I'm laid back and carefree about my life, then I have nothing to worry about."  
  
Consume nodded. "Well, your carefree attitude will not save you from my attacks."  
  
The announcer dropped his hand, signaling him to start.  
  
Consume charged at NiGHTS's floating form and attempted to punch him out of the air.  
  
NiGHTS simply floated to the right and dodged. "Ole!" he said.  
  
Consume turned around and charged again. He threw another punch. NiGHTS backflipped and landed on his hand. He stood there in a handstand, possibly waiting for Consume to make the next move.  
  
Consume reached into his cloak and withdrew a glittering katana blade. "You may be able to dodge my punches, but there is no way that you can dodge this!"  
  
NiGHTS jumped out of his handstand and hovered there again. "Oh, I'm shaking in my little boots."  
  
Consume charged again, this time slashing with the blade. NiGHTS remained in place as the sword approached him. He smirked and caught the blade in between his thumb and forefinger.  
  
Consume stared in awe at this as NiGHTS spoke. "So, this is the sword that you were so proud of? Helpless between the fingers of a joker like myself?"  
  
NiGHTS pushed the blade back and brought a foot up into Consume's face. Consume stumbled back and dropped his sword while he massaged his sore face. "I think you broke my freaking nose!"  
  
NiGHTS chuckled. "Aw, so sorry. On your way to the hospital, why don't you pick me up a case of 'I don't care' while your at it?"  
  
Consume growled as he picked up his sword. "You'll pay for this."  
  
NiGHTS yawned again as he hovered there as if he was laying on a bed with his arms crossed below his chin. "If you mean paying your medical bill after this fighter, I think not."  
  
********  
  
Zelda watched with interest. "Well, NiGHTS sure has a foreign fighting style."  
  
Kenshin nodded. "Well, you must remember that he is not of this world, that he is not. It is interesting though. It seems like he can tell every attack that his enemy is going to use before they even use it."  
  
Katama observed this. "So, he is the fabled dream warrior that the prophecy spoke of. Interesting. He will not be much of a threat to us though."  
  
Katama had spoken so lightly, he assumed that no one could hear him. Rouge, however, was standing right next to him and her hearing was ultra- sensitive. 'Hmm, that was interesting. I'm sure that the others would like to know about this.'  
  
Zidane noticed that she was in deep thought which was pretty out of character for here. "Is something wrong, Rouge?" he asked, giving her a quick peck on the cheek.  
  
Rouge looked to her new-found lover and said, "I'll tell you and the others later. Right now, I think we should just enjoy the match, okay?"  
  
Zidane nodded and turned back to the ring.  
  
********  
  
NiGHTS was getting bored with this. All Consume was doing was slashing at him with his sword. He frowned. He was all for a good fight, but if it got boring in any way, he really would prefer it to end sooner.  
  
He dodged another slash and backed off. "Forgive me, but this is getting rather annoying. I think I'll just end this right here and now."  
  
Consume breathed heavily and slashed again. "Boring, is it? Then I'll have to do something to liven things up."  
  
He focused his energy and a small fireball appeared in his hand. He threw it at NiGHTS who simply dodged it. "One little flame? That's all you can do? Try this on for size!"  
  
NiGHTS started to fly in a circle around Consume. Soon, a little trail of stars began to appear behind him. The remained where they were. Soon, there was a whole circle of them around Consume. Then, the started to glow and close in on him. NiGHTS smirked. "This is my favorite attack: the paraloop!"  
  
The halo of stars linked together and made contact with Consume. He screamed in pain as the loop seemed to be draining him of all his power.  
  
Finally, Consume dropped to the ground, knocked out. NiGHTS landed. "Earlier, you told me that your sword would defeat me. Just remember that a weapon is only as good as the one that wields it. Until you learn this, you have learned nothing."  
  
NiGHTS watched as they dragged Consume off to the medical ward and jumped out of the ring. Link looked at him. "Well, that seemed to be an effortless victory for you."  
  
NiGHTS nodded. "Yeah. I just wish that I could have had more fun. That guy was weak. That just makes the fight boring."  
  
Inuyasha snorted. "So? You beat the guy and that's all that matters."  
  
NiGHTS puffed up his chest in pride. "Not to me. In my opinion, the idea behind these fights is to have a good time, not just to crack some bones."  
  
Rouge came up to him. "NiGHTS, I heard something that may interest you."  
  
NiGHTS leaned down and listened as she relayed what she had heard from Katama to NiGHTS. His expression turned serious. He beckoned everyone back into the lounge. "What is it?" asked Robotnik.  
  
NiGHTS turned around and said, "I owe you all some more explaining. There are a few things that I left out last time. Plus, Rouge has helped me confirm who in this tournament is trying to shatter the wall of reality."  
  
They all followed hesitantly, wondering what this was all about.  
  
__________________________________________________________________ Well, here it is. Sorry if it is short, but I was at a lack of ideas for right now. I also was quite addicted to a new game I just got, Star Fox Adventures. Not only did I beat it in four days, but it also sparked a lot of inspiration on my part, so I'll probably be putting up a lot of Star Fox stories in the near future. In the meantime, this fic will continue to be updated for all to enjoy. New chapter will be up soon. R/R people! 


	9. Tshe tournament part 6

Okay, I'm back again. Yeah, sorry about the last fight. It wasn't really the greatest, but it did get the job done. This one isn't really going to be any better, but hey, it's Rouge. BTW, I got a review that pretty much dissed SFA. The person shall remain unnamed, but I just want people to know that if I mention a game that you don't like, kindly keep your opinions in a not-so-critical form. You can say that you dislike said game, but don't completely diss it. Remember, there are people here who may enjoy that game. Okay, I'm done ranting for now. On with the story!  
  
Chapter 9: The tournament part 6  
  
NiGHTS and the others sat in the fighter's lounge. He sighed. "Well, here it goes. As I told you, someone wants to destroy the barrier between your reality and mine."  
  
Inuyasha sighed. "We know that. Now what the hell haven't you told us?"  
  
Zelda turned to him. "Inuyasha, give him a chance to speak."  
  
NiGHTS nodded. "Thank you, Zelda. Now regarding what Rouge has told me, I guess you should know about the old prophecy that is coming true now."  
  
Yusuke groaned. "Another prophecy? God, can't we ever catch a break?"  
  
NiGHTS continued. "Yes, and if we are to believe in what it states, Rouge and I are destined swords like the rest of you."  
  
Rouge gasped and looked at NiGHTS. "Are you sure about this?"  
  
NiGHTS nodded again. "There are two others out there that are destined like Rouge and I to become swords. This tournament is only a small step to stop a rising evil in this world."  
  
Link crossed his arms. "Just once in my life, I would like to live normally. But it seems like that dream is a long way off."  
  
NiGHTS nodded once again. "Yes, and based on the rest of the information that Rouge has given me, I know who is trying to destroy our worlds."  
  
NiGHTS rose up and pointed an accusing finger at Katama Karuma. He stood and nodded. "Yes. I guess that I should have seem this coming. NiGHTS, I am not the only one trying to rupture the world. My mistress sent me to stop you from progressing any further and make sure that we succeed."  
  
NiGHTS growled and took a fighter stance. Link shook his head and placed a hand on NiGHTS shoulder. "Not here. Beat him honorably. Wait to see if you two meet up in the tournament."  
  
NiGHTS seemed less than thrilled with this idea, but he lowered his stance anyway.  
  
Then, an official came in. "Excuse me, but we are ready to begin the next match. Would Rouge the bat and Magnum please come to the ring?"  
  
Magnum stepped up to Rouge. "I have a thing about beating up girls, but I guess I could make an exception with you."  
  
Rouge smirked. "I just hope that you can give me a better fight than that Consume guy did for NiGHTS."  
  
They both headed out into the ring. The announcer yawned, obviously getting tired of this scenario. "Well, here we are with another fight for you all. Welcome the bat with all the feminine wiles, Rouge!"  
  
Rouge giggled and blew a kiss to the crowd. She received quite a few cheers from the men in the crowd.  
  
"And against here, he is the crude dude with a body to boot, Magnum!"  
  
Magnum flexed his muscles as the ladies in the crowd went wild. Rouge rolled her eyes.  
  
Magnum took a fighter stance and said, "Hey, after this fight, how about you and me go back to my hotel room and have a bit of fun?"  
  
Rouge crossed her arms. "Sorry, but I'm spoken for."  
  
Magnum growled. "The last girl that refused me ended up six feet under!"  
  
Rouge cleaned out her ear with her pinky, flicking away the excess debris. "You should really try and open your mouth a little wider when you speak."  
  
Magnum growled. "That is it, bitch! Your going down!"  
  
The announcer dropped his hand and the two started their assault. Magnum took the offensive and aimed a big punch at Rouge's stomach. She brought up her leg and blocked it, countering with a kick to his shoulder.  
  
Magnum backed up and groaned. "Damn, you got some legs on you."  
  
Rouge was not even going to dignify that with a grin. She charged again, aiming the kick a little higher than his shoulder. He brought up his arm and blocked the kick. He had to pay a price for trying to block one of Rouge's kicks.  
  
There was a hideous cracking sound. Magnum clutched his arm and howled in pain. "Bitch! You broke my arm!"  
  
Rouge smirked. "Technically, you broke it. I was just blocking your attack."  
  
Then, she noticed that Magnum was beginning to change. His body was becoming more hunched and his face was more wolf-like. Not to mention he now had a tail and was growing fur. "If I can't beat you in my human form, I beat you in my true form!"  
  
Rouge watched in shock. Magnum howled again and launched himself at her. She spread her wings and hovered away. She sighed with relief.  
  
Zelda gulped. "What is that thing?" she asked.  
  
Kenshin crossed his arms. "I have heard of this. There are odd creatures around here that disguise themselves as humans and look around for any fresh meat that they can find. They have little regards for others."  
  
Robotnik stroked his moustache in thought. "Is there anything else that we should know about them."  
  
Kenshin nodded and smiled darkly. "They are all trained rapists."  
  
Everyone gasped. Zidane ran up to the edge of the ring and shouted, "Rouge, there may be more at stake than just a few injuries here!"  
  
Rouge looked back to Zidane. "What do you mean?"  
  
Zidane looked at her seriously. "Kenshin just told us about what kind of monster your dealing with here! He's a rapist!"  
  
Rouge gulped and dodged another attack from the creature's claw. She lost her balance and fell backwards. Magnum jumped on top of her and pinned all of her limbs down.  
  
Rouge could hear Zidane shout, "If you hurt her, I'll kill you!"  
  
Magnum turned his wolf-like features to face Zidane while keeping Rouge pinned to the ground. "I'll meet you in the playground after school."  
  
He turned back to Rouge. "Now, before I finished this, I think I will indulge in some... fun."  
  
Rouge's heart beat was going a million miles a second. To her horror, she noticed that his broken arm was now fully healed. His hands still had her arms pinned at the elbow so she couldn't slap him and her feet were pinned, so she couldn't kick his core. Doing that would get her disqualified anyway.  
  
Then, as he began to slip a claw into her outfit she had an idea. If he was a dog, his hearing had to be very sensitive. She mumbled under her breath.  
  
Magnum noticed this and leaned his head closer to hers. "What was that?"  
  
Rouge mumbled again. Magnum leaned his head even closer to hers. "Speak up dear. I can't understand a word that you're saying."  
  
Rouge though that he was close enough. She took a deep breath and let out the most ear-splitting screech that she could muster.  
  
Magnum rolled off of her, clutching his ear that Rouge had yelled into. "Bitch! That hurt! I'll kill you!"  
  
Rouge rolled over and jumped up. "How could you do that? Trying to rape me right in the middle of a fight! Shame on you!"  
  
Magnum stood up, still clutching his ear. "Can you blame me? Your body isn't exactly that easy to ignore. But now, I'm not interested. Your to loud in bed."  
  
Rouge growled and ran up, implanting her foot in his stomach. "If you ever say that again, I'm going to make sure that you can't rape anyone ever again!"  
  
She did not give him time to recover and brought her foot up to his chin. The force of the kick caused him to fly up into the air.  
  
He started to descend and Rouge met him halfway, forcing her foot into the small of his back. The force of that impact sent him out of the ring, and through a brick wall.  
  
Rouge sank to the ground, trying to recover from the aftershock she was still feeling from almost being raped.  
  
Zidane jumped into the ring and embraced her. Rouge returned the hug, but then realized that Zidane was weeping. "What is wrong?" she asked.  
  
Zidane continued to weep as he spoke. "Rouge, when he had you pinned to the ground just then, I was so afraid of what was gonna happen to you."  
  
Rouge smiled. "Don't worry, Zidane. As long as I have you with me, nothing will ever hurt you or me."  
  
Zidame smiled again. They both kissed each other. At that moment, they forgot everything, the tournament, the crowd, their friends. There was only each other, two people deeply in love with each other.  
  
As the broke off, Zidane smiled. "Thank you for being here."  
  
Rouge returned his smile. "Same to you."  
  
They were interrupted as they heard someone cough behind them. They looked to see all the others standing there. Everyone was smiling except for NiGHTS who was hovering and doing some absurd dance while making some clicking noises with his tounge.  
  
Zelda was a little more concerned about Rouge's well-being. "Are you alright?"  
  
Rouge nodded. "I'll be fine." She stood up with Zidane and headed off towards the fighter's lounge.  
  
Yusuke snickered. "That goes without saying."  
  
Robotnik raised a hand. "That is enough. Let's leave them alone for a while. It is clear that they want to be alone. That was quite a shock that both of them received.  
  
Everyone nodded and headed back to the lounge. But NiGHTS and Katama remained standing there. Katama growled. "If we were not in this tournament, I would tear you limb from limb right here and now."  
  
NiGHTS' eyes narrowed. "The feeling is mutual, I can assure you."  
  
They both headed in the direction of the lounge, each keeping an eye on one another. Night's could not put his finger on it, but there was something very familiar about this entity out to destroy two worlds.  
  
This chapter is done! Yay! I think that I may have made to many sexual references and rape mentionings, but I'll let you be the judges of that. I have nothing else to say right now considering that I just finished ranting in the opening author's note. Anyway, read and review! The next chapter will be up soon! 


	10. The tournament part 7

Once again, my ordinary life, which I am lacking there-of, has been put aside so that I can update this fic and bring you people some mild pleasure and entertainment. I can't really say that this is going to be a long chapter because this is not a very interesting fight. Crunch, a character of my own creation, is going up against one of video gaming's most legendary icons, Mario Mario. Let us see who will triumph.  
  
Chapter 11: The tournament part  
  
Link was beginning to get nervous with the way that Katama and NiGHTS were staring at each other. Ever since NiGHTS had confirmed that Katama was one of the people out to destroy the barrier between reality and the dream world, he had not taken his eyes off him.  
  
Link was about to ask them to lighten up when Inuyasha beat him to it. "For god's sake, would you two just lay off of each other! NiGHTS, we know that this guy is our enemy, but as long as we are all in this tournament, there is nothing that we can do about it, so just deal with it or leave!"  
  
NiGHTS did not take his eyes off of Katama, but it was clear to see that he was annoyed with Inuyasha now. His eyes narrowed slightly before he extended his middle finger in front of Inuyasha and said, "Go crap in a sandbox, fuzzy."  
  
Inuyasha was about to make a smart-ass comment before one of the other fighters, Mario came up and put a strong arm on his shoulder. "Let him be. It is clear that he does not want to be disturbed now as unnerving as it is to have the two of them staring at each other like that, we are just going to have to grin and bear it."  
  
Inuyasha wanted to snap at the little Italian man, but he found himself calming down as the guy spoke. Inuyasha cast another glance at the two staring fighters before sitting down and started taking in some deep breaths.  
  
Crunch, who was watching the whole thing was disgusted. "I say that if he wants to go over there and ruff them up a little, let him."  
  
Mario frowned. "Crunch, for one thing, fighting outside the ring would get them disqualified so they are being sensible. And two, this tournament is not for grudge matches."  
  
Crunch growled. "I'll deal with you in the ring, moustached moron."  
  
Mario simply turned away. Shadow returned from the medical ward. He walked by all of the fighters until he came across Mewtwo. He extended his hand. "Good match."  
  
Mewtwo smiled and shook the hand greatly. "Glad to see that you aren't sore about losing."  
  
Shadow smiled. "You just happen to have a harder head. The next time that we fight, you won't be as lucky as you were this time."  
  
Mewtwo nodded. "I look forward to it."  
  
Shadow turned back to the others. "By the way, they wanted me to let Mario and Crunch to report to the ring for their match at once."  
  
Mario and Crunch said nothing as they marched out to the ring, silent as tombs, tough as nails, and stiff as boards.  
  
They entered the ring and the announcer yawned again. Obviously, he had seen this scene all to many times for his liking. "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the Italian plumber that put the M in jump, give it up for Mario!"  
  
Mario listened as the crowed cheered for him and gave the air an uppercut. "Here we go!" he shouted.  
  
The announcer nodded. "And his opponent, a street fighter with a 'tude, please welcome Crunch!"  
  
The crowd did not cheer as much as they did for Mario. Crunch had a bad reputation as a street fighter in the village. He was always the one who started it too.  
  
The announcer raised his hand and both fighters took a stance. He dropped his hand and the match began.  
  
Crunch ran forward and threw a hard right jab at Mario. Mario countered by jumping up. Everyone was startled as he reached an unbelievable height of ten feet.  
  
Crunch stared up in disbelief. "What? That's not possible!"  
  
Mario smirked as he landed again. "Anything is possible if you believe. Just try this for example."  
  
Mario raised his palm so that it was level with his face. It started to glow red and a big fireball appeared in his hand. It was bigger and much more impressive than what NiGHTS had observed from Consume.  
  
Mario continued to smirk as he threw the fireball. Crunch was not the most intelligent fighters there. He thought that brute force could conquer all. He did not believe in defense. So, it would make sense that he did not have knowledge enough to dodge a giant ball of fire that was hurtling towards him at a pretty fast speed.  
  
The attack impacted him head on in the chin. Not only did it knock him backwards, but it left a pretty decent burn mark on his face. "You bastard!"  
  
Mario was holding up something that appeared to be a transparent version of the hat that he was wearing right then. He placed the transparent one over his original. Everyone stared in awe as he disappeared from human sight.  
  
Crunch could not fight what he could not see, so he just lowered his guard and stared out into space. He could hear Mario chuckling. "Which hand do I have behind my back? Is it my right?"  
  
Crunch felt something punch him hard in the jaw right where the fireball had impacted before which only added to Crunch's misery. "Or the left?"  
  
Crunch felt another blow strike him, this time in the stomach. Crunch dropped to his knees."  
  
Mario removed the invisibility hat he was wearing and looked at Crunch. "Your strong, I'll give you that, but you have no strategy. What good is a strong body if a strong mind isn't there to control it?"  
  
Mewtwo observed the match with interest. "This is interesting."  
  
Yusuke shook his head. "What are you talking about? That Mario guy has this match in the bag."  
  
Mewtwo looked at his companion. "I don't mean the fight itself. Crunch, in truth is much stronger than Mario. They only reason that he is losing is because he has no strategy. He's as dumb as a stump. Mario is a seasoned fighter with a lot of experience on his side."  
  
Yusuke nodded and turned back to the match. What Mewtwo said was true. Crunch may be experienced in street fighting, but there was very little to no strategy involved there. Mario probably had been in many strategic battles before this one.  
  
Crunch had recovered from his fetal position and was attempting another rush at Mario. At the last second, Mario withdrew a huge hammer from nowhere it seemed. He swung with dangerous accuracy.  
  
The blow was staggering as it sent Crunch out of the ring and into the brick wall. The resulting hole was not as big as the one that Rouge had made with her opponent, but it was still of fairly decent size.  
  
Mario simply walked off the ring as the crowd cheered for him. He took one final look at the crater where Crunch was now residing. "You can thank Tiger for that swing."  
  
As he approached the others, Zidane jumped up and said, "Dude, you have got to show me how to do that fire trick!"  
  
Mario chuckled. "It isn't easy. I get that power after eating a fire flower that grow on sun mountain. I just kept eating them until they became a natural part of my bloodstream so now I can use that trick without the assistance of a fire flower."  
  
Rouge pulled Zidane away from Mario by the hand. "Excuse me, but if you had that power, the world would be in danger of burning to ashes."  
  
Zidane shrugged. Rouge smirked. "Besides, you already light my fire." They both closed in and shared a deep and passionate kiss.  
  
Inuyasha stuck a finger in his mouth and said, "Gag me."  
  
Mewtwo shook his head and came up to his friend. "Inuyasha, you are just like I used to be. The only reason that you act like that around couples is because you are having trouble finding someone special in your life."  
  
Inuyasha snorted. "Yeah right. What gave you that idea?"  
  
Mewtwo smirked. "The mind is just like a book. It can be read as long as you know how."  
  
Inuyasha blushed, but stayed silent. Everyone laughed at his awkwardness. Then, they headed back into the lounge for preparation for the next match.  
  
NiGHTS and Katama were still staring at each other, just daring the other to make a move against the other. But NiGHTS had one other reason to be in this tournament besides the fact that he was ordered. If he won, his wish would be that he could go anywhere he wanted in either world on his own time without anyone telling him what to do. He would with that he could be as free as... well, a dream.  
  
Like I said, not the most glorious chapter in the world, but it gets us from one point to the other right? I just hope it was satisfactory in your eyes, my readers. I will try to make the next chapter better, I promise. But for now, I have a few other things to do, so just R/R, okay? See ya soon! 


	11. The tournament part 8

I am back! Yes! And this chapter wraps up the first round of the tournament as well! YAY! The reviews were nice as always and greatly appreciated. BTW, I'm glad that people are also enjoying the start of my other fic 'Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles- a novelization'. Thank you all for your support and ideas. Now, I give you the next chapter to my super smash fic: Four Swords Times Three!  
  
Chapter 11: The tournament part 8  
  
Nothing had really changed since the last match and everyone was eagerly awaiting the battle between Kenshin and the evil that was Katama.  
  
Crunch had been taken to the medical ward and Magnum was still there. He was either still injured or just scared of what the others would do to him if he showed his face around there ever again.  
  
NiGHTS and Katama were still refusing to let each other out of their sight. Finally, they broke their eye contact as an official entered the room. "Would Katama Karuma and Kenshin Himura come to the ring? By the way, the winner will automatically be competing in the third round of the tournament due to the lack of fighters."  
  
Katama rose from his seat. Kenshin did the same and began to head out to the ring. NiGHTS looked at him. "Kenshin, be careful. I don't know how, but this guy just seems familiar to me. He is radiating with some pretty bad energy. Don't let your guard down."  
  
Kenshin nodded. "Do not worry. I will be fine, that I will."  
  
They both headed out to the ring. The announcer sighed and thanked god that this was the last match for the day. "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our last two fighters for the day. Please welcome the swordsman with a sword of steel and heart of gold, Kenshin!"  
  
The crowd sent cheers his way as Kenshin bowed respectfully to the crowd.  
  
The announcer turned to Katama. "And now..."  
  
He was silenced as he was thrown out of the ring by Katama. He chuckled. "Fools! You will all be rotting before to long! This tournament is simply a stepping stone to ensure my mistress' complete success. Now, gaze at my true form!"  
  
Katama threw off the cloak and for the first time, everyone gazed at his truest form. They all gasped. He looked like a body double of NiGHTS himself. He was a slightly darker shade of purple and his chest gem was a sick green that matched his eyes. He mouth was lined with sharp fangs. His suit also was lined with several black stripes  
  
He grinned. "You are no longer to call me Katama! Call me by my real name, Reala!"  
  
Kenshin drew his sword. "This will be as far as you get in this fight, my friend."  
  
Reala laughed. "You fool. This is only the beginning. You are not going to stand in my way."  
  
The announcer dropped his had from the sidelines, deeming it safer from over there. The two charged at each other.  
  
NiGHTS clenched his fists. "I knew that I had met him before!"  
  
Mewtwo looked at NiGHTS. "An old aquantence of yours?" he asked.  
  
NiGHTS lowered his head as if in shame. "He's my brother."  
  
Everyone gasped at this. Zidane looked at Reala again. "Yeah, I can see the family resemblance."  
  
Rouge frowned. "Zidane, watch how your phrase what you say."  
  
NiGHTS shook his head. "No, Rouge. Zidane was right about family resemblance in more ways than one. I was once a nightmare like Reala, just as bad."  
  
Link looked at his friend. "NiGHTS, that is all in the past."  
  
NiGHTS nodded. "Yes, but old wounds are hard to heal."  
  
Link nodded, knowing this all to well.  
  
Back in the ring, Kenshin had taken the offensive and was attack with quick focused attacks, but to no avail.  
  
Reala's style of fighting was just as foreign as NiGHTS and they seemed to be nearly identical.  
  
Reala mocked him. "Really, I would have expected something a little more impressive from a fighter of your calibur."  
  
Kenshin remained calm and slashed again at Reala. "I will not allow myself to be defeated by your mockery."  
  
Reala made no attempt to dodge this time. As the blade whistled towards him, he extended his hand and caught the blade between his thumb and forefinger. "Really? Well, if mockery will not work, then let's try this."  
  
Reala lifted up on the blade and sent his heel straight into Kenshin's somach. Kenshin backed off. Reala had let go of the sword, so he still had that.  
  
Reala laughed. "Come now, I know that you are stronger than that!"  
  
Kenshin slashed again, this time, horizontally. Reala simply seemed to disappear. Kenshin stared around in wonder. Reala appeared behind him and delivered a double chop to Kenshin's neck.  
  
Kenshin's eyes widened and he stood for a moment as if nothing had happned. Then, he pitched to the ground.  
  
Zelda gasped. "Kenshin!" she shouted.  
  
Inuyasha growled. "Come on, Kenshin, get your ass up! I know your stronger than that!"  
  
Yusuke nodded. "Yeah! No joker bastard can beat you!"  
  
NiGHTS cleared his throat. Yusuke looked at him and said, "No offense."  
  
NiGHTS nodded. "None taken."  
  
The announcer was just about to declare Reala the winner when he reached down and picked up Kenshin by the collar and hoisted him to his feet. "Oh, look, he's on his feet. Looks like this match is going to continue."  
  
He received several boos from the crowd for this move, but he paid it no mind.  
  
He began spinning Kenshin high above his head. "Say bye-bye!"  
  
Reala hurled his victim with all of his might right out of the ring, causing a big crater to be formed. The people from the ER ran as fast they could.  
  
They carried Kenshin out on a stretcher. Link and the others ran up. "Is he alright?" the all asked at once.  
  
The doctor nodded. "He has several broken bones in his legs and has suffered some heavy head injuries, but he will recover from everything eventually.  
  
Reala laughed as he approached. "Well, that is a shame. I guess that I should have threw him a little harder."  
  
Link looked at him with the same malice that NiGHTS had always looked at him with. "You bastard! I'm gonna get you for this!"  
  
Reala shook his head. Your not in the position to kill anyone, my friend. Well, if anyone needs me, I will be back in the fighter's lounge.  
  
Everyone watched as he walked off. NiGHTS was more angry then the other. "Well, brother, looks like we're finally going to get to finish what we started so long ago."  
  
Not exactly a long or glorious chapter, but significant nonetheless. Nothing to say here, so just read and review! The next chapter will be up shortly. 


	12. An Interlude

Yosh! I'm back! I bring a lot of apologies for taking so long, but I have had my fill of school! What with algerbra finals coming up, I've been pretty hard-pressed. But, school gets out in a week, so I'll be able to focus a bit more on updating. Okay, now that that is taken care of, on with the fic! Oh, and to answer a question that I received, no Reala is not mine. He is actually NiGHTS' brother from the game they are featured in.  
  
Chapter 12: An interlude  
  
The crowd continued to boo over what had transpired during the fight between Reala and Kenshin. The announcer managed to yell over the crowd, "Ladies and gentlemen, the tournament has ended for the day. The second round shall begin tomorrow. Good day to you!"  
  
The fighters, most worried for Kenshin's health. The medics had assured everyone that he would make a full recovery, but he wouldn't be fighting for a while.  
  
All of the fighters went off to find their own thing to do.  
  
-------  
  
Shadow looked out on the town one last time. He sighed. "Well, I may have lost the tournament, but what would it have proved? I guess that I'm just doomed to spend my life wandering and wondering."  
  
Shadow was about to speed off when he heard a voice behind him. "Wait a minute!"  
  
He looked back to see Rouge and Robotnik standing there. He turned to them and did something he rarely did. He smiled. "Hello again, my old friends. Is there something you wanted to say to me before I go?"  
  
Robotnik nodded. "What I want to know is how you survived. We found no trace of your body after the energy explosion and assumed that your body had been incinerated."  
  
Shadow shook his head. "Ironically, that blast of energy acted as a chaos control to my body. I was injured by the blast, but it wasn't serious. I was warped to a far corner of the earth."  
  
Rouge nodded. "So, now your back in action? Why don't you come with us?"  
  
Shadow shook his head again. "I'm sorry, but my life is still just as big a mystery to me as it was when we first met. I'm still searching for the answers that I have always sought. Obviously, I won't find them if I stick around here and I don't want to burden you or your friends with my problems."  
  
Rouge looked at her friend with sympathy. "Where will you go now?"  
  
Shadow turned back to the setting sun. "I'll follow the direction that the sun is pointing now. I may never find the answers that I seek, but I'll be damned if I die knowing that I didn't try."  
  
Shadow nodded towards them one last time and sped off on his way. Robotnik sighed. "Good luck, my friend. I hope that you find what you are looking for one day."  
  
Rouge looked up at Robotnik. "I don't understand why he didn't want us to help him."  
  
Robotnik looked down at the bat and shook his head. "Despite the fact that he has learned to trust his friends, he will always be a loaner. He is concerned about us just as we are with him. He doesn't want us to be put into danger because of his hunt. Maybe we'll see him again, but for now all we can do is hope that he finds what he is looking for in one place or another."  
  
Rouge nodded and looked towards the sunset at the small dot that she knew was Shadow. "Good luck."  
  
-------  
  
Mewtwo sat underneath a large waterfall that he had come across. His eyes were closed and his legs were crossed. He was completely still under the extremely cold waterfall except for his tail which gave a twitch every once in awhile.  
  
Here, he was left to his thoughts. 'NiGHTS was once a nightmare, but now he is good and his brother is out to destroy us all. Boy, it sounds like one of those old low-budget films from back in my world. But, if they are both formed from dreams, how can they combat each other?'  
  
He winced for a second, losing consentration for a split second. 'They both have similar abilities and fighting styles which means that if they fight each other, they will be able to predict nearly every move made by their counterpart.'  
  
He would have continued to contemplate this turn of events if he had not been interrupted. "Well, you must be Mewtwo."  
  
Mewtwo's eyes snapped open and he got out from under the waterfall to see Reala standing there. Mewtwo growled. "What do you want?"  
  
Reala laughed. "What, is it a crime to want to chat with a fellow warrior?"  
  
Mewtwo took a fighter stance. "You have no right to call yourself a fighter! What you did to Kenshin is unforgivable!"  
  
Reala just waved his hand. "Please, don't misunderstand. I was sent here to make sure that NiGHTS and anyone affiliated with him do not spoil the mistress' plans to shatter the wall between reality and dreams."  
  
Mewtwo lowered his stance. "Who is this mistress that you keep speaking of?"  
  
Reala grinned. "She is a black priestess with a mean streak. She has been betrayed several times in the past and I wouldn't be surprised if she never trusted anyone again. She has the ability to move between the two plains of dream and reality at will and can create demons to her satisfaction."  
  
Mewtwo growled. "A name would be more helpful than all the info that you have provided me with."  
  
Reala shook his head. "Sorry, but you will have to learn the rest on your own. That is all I shall tell you. Just be forewarned that if for some strange reason we should meet in the tournament, you shall fall harder than Kenshin did."  
  
Reala flew off, leaving Mewtwo standing there. Mewtwo clenched his fists. "Mark my words, Reala, if we meet, I'll rip you to shreds and tape them back together again just so I can repeat the process!"  
  
--------  
  
Zidane was sleeping contently in his bed back at the hotel. NiGHTS was there as well. Being a dream, he had little need of sleep, so he was rather bored for the moment. He looked at Zidane and an idea came to mind.  
  
He smirked. "I know that I really shouldn't but what fun would that be?"  
  
He walked over and placed a hand onto Zidane's head. He consentrated for a second and was warped into Zidane's dream. He knew that it was rude to 'dream-drop' as he called it, but he just couldn't resist.  
  
He was now in Zidane's dream and he knew that he couldn't be seen by anyone, so he looked around. He was in a small room with one door in front of him that had a sign reading 'DO NOT DISTURB!'.  
  
He smirked, shook his head, and opened the door. As soon as it was open he gasped, closing the door and dropping out of the dream altogether.  
  
He leaned against the hotel wall, breathing heavily. He had seen Zidane lying naked on a king-sized bed in a beautiful palace room with Rouge the bat right next to him. They weren't doing 'it', they were just kissing each other. But, he was sure that they were damn near to doing 'it'.  
  
He shook his head and looked out the window. "Soon, brother... soon."  
  
--------  
  
Yusuke and Inuyasha were sitting near the bank of a river leading into a canal of the town. Yusuke looked at his friend. "Say, Inuyasha, how come you can't stand to see other people kissing and stuff?"  
  
Inuyasha snorted. "It's disgusting! If they want so much to flaunt their emotions for each other, then they should just get a hotel room and..."  
  
Yusuke shook his head and cut him off before he could finish. "Inuyasha, come on, if you had someone like that of your own, you'd do the same thing."  
  
Inuyasha blushed a bit, but shook his head. "I would not! Besides, who would want something like that?"  
  
Yusuke smirked. "Oh, now I get it! You're jealous!"  
  
Inuyasha was about to make a comeback when they heard someone approaching.  
  
They looked behind them to see Magnum, Crunch, and Consume standing there. Yusuke gave them a look. "Can we help you?"  
  
Magnum nodded. "Yes you can! By holding still so we can pummel the living daylights outta you!"  
  
Inuyasha took a fighting stance. "Heh, looks like you guys are pretty sore losers."  
  
All three of them charged at Yusuke and Inuyasha. Yusuke yawned. "I'll take the ugly one."  
  
Inuyasha snickered. "Which ugly one?"  
  
All three of their attackers thrust at them with their fists at the same time. Inuyasha grabbed onto Consume and Crunch's outstretched arms while Yusuke grabbed onto Magnum's. In one fluent motion, all three of them were thrown into the air and into the river where the current quickly carried them away.  
  
Yusuke looked at Inuyasha. "Think we should head back now? Maybe you'll get lucky on the way back and a lady will actually be attracted to you."  
  
Inuyasha growled. "I'm going to give you to the count of ten to get out of my sight before I personally make your death as slow and as painful as possible."  
  
Yusuke shook his head. "Oh come on! You expect me to be afraid of a threat like that after you lost to me in the tournament? Sure, the officials called it a draw, but we both know that I was the winner."  
  
Inuyasha growled and shook his head. "Damn it, you lost and you know it! Just accept that. There is no way in hell that you won against me."  
  
And thus, their feud began anew...  
  
--------  
  
Link sat down on the grass next to a large and healthy apple tree, munch on one of the tree's luscious fruits. Zelda came up and sat down next to him. "Link, do you think that Kenshin will be okay?"  
  
Link looked at her and nodded. "He'll be fine. He is pretty strong. I'm just hoping that the attacks that Reala used don't end up installing perminant damage on him."  
  
Zelda gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "I wonder how tomorrow's matches will end up."  
  
Link chuckled. "Well, I'm up against Robotnik tomorrow, and I'm not sure if it is a battle that I can win."  
  
Zelda shook her head. "Why not. You have much more combat skill than I do and you saw how close that I came to defeating him."  
  
Link nodded. "Yes, but he still won. He is extremely intelligent and he can formulate very complicated battle plans. He also has several trick that could give him the edge."  
  
Zelda looked down at the ground. She reached into her pack and withdrew a red, green, and blue potion. "I'm not sure how helpful these will be, but I want you to have them.  
  
Link took the potions gratefully and gave her a kiss on the lips, sending both of them straight to cloud nine.  
  
There was the sound of someone clearing their throat. They both looked to see Robotnik and Rouge standing there. Robotnik chuckled. "So sorry. Were we interrupting something?"  
  
Link and Zelda blushed. Link got up and offered his hand to her. She took it gratefully and the both hurried off to their respective rooms. They could both clearly hear Rouge and Robotnik laughing at the awkwardness of the situation.  
  
Link sighed as he sat down on his bed. "Every single time! Why does this keep happening to me? Am I cursed or something?"  
  
He decided to let it go for now. He rested his head on the pillow, intent on getting some rest for the next round of the tournament.  
  
!#$%&())(&%$#!  
  
Well, it wasn't the most important or the longest chapter that I have written, but I think that it was a nice break from all of the fighting that had been happening. Anyway, I'll try to get the next chapter up sooner. R/R ppl! 


	13. An unexpected twist! The tournament ends...

I'M SORRY! I haven't been updating recently, but I've had a major case of writer's block... a lame excuse, I know, but I'm back and I promise that I won't ever take this long ever again! Okay, during this chapter, I introduce an unexpected twist... tell me what you think.  
  
An unexpected twist... the tournament ends early!  
  
The following day, all the fighters gathered back at the tournament... well, all that were still there or applicable to fight anyway.  
  
Once again, tensions were high with NiGHTS and Reala, who were staring each other down again. Robotnik was doing some final preparations on his machine while Link was in a meditative state. Rouge and Zidane seemed to be much more comfortable with each other's company now and they were constantly stealing glances at each other.  
  
It was making Inuyasha sick. "Damn it, would you two quit eyeing each other like a couple of predators?"  
  
Yusuke chuckled a bit. "Lighten up, Inuyasha. Don't take your anger out on them just because you're still angry about losing to me in the tournament."  
  
Inuyasha gave him a death glare. "Hey! I won and you know it!"  
  
Zelda sighed. Those two never seemed to learn and it was a sure fact that they would not let this go until a few months had gone by... or until they found something else to argue about. She went over and sat next to Link. "Are you nervous at all?"  
  
Link opened his eyes and smiled at her. "Of course I'm nervous. If Robotnik can beat you, then that has to mean he is good!"  
  
Zelda chuckled and gave him a nice long kiss. Reala looked away from his brother long enough to see them kiss. He shook his head. "Foolish humans love is such a laughable concept. It only leads to unhappiness."  
  
NiGHTS shook his head. "You are sadly mistaken, Reala. You have no way of knowing this. You just assume it because of your own beliefs."  
  
An official came in, interrupting the conversation. "Excuse me, but the next match is about to begin. Robotnik is waiting for you in the ring."  
  
Link nodded and gave Zelda another kiss before heading out to the ring. He entered it to the familiar cheers of the crowd. He stepped up onto the ring and saw Robotnik standing there. "Good luck."  
  
Robotnik nodded. "Good luck to you as well."  
  
The announcer nodded and said. "Alright, at this point, they need no intros, so let's get right to the action! Fighters ready? Get set...'  
  
Before he could finish, an official was thrown into him, knocking him out of the ring. Reala floated right into the ring. "I've had enough of these rules! From now on, I'm playing this game my own way! And I say, to win... death is required.'  
  
Link growled. "What are you doing?"  
  
Robotnik took his mech a step forward. "Get out of here, now, before they have you disqualified for interrupting our match!"  
  
Reala growled and raised his hand. "Silence!" he shouted. A blast of windy energy knocked Robotnik's mech out of the ring. He rolled out of it just as it was launched into the wall.  
  
Link held his sword out threateningly. "Stop this now Reala."  
  
Reala shook his head. "I think not. Once I start, I don't stop." He raised his hand again. This time a beam of concentrated energy was launched out, right at the audience! Link watched helplessly as part of the stadium was incinerated along with all the people who were sitting in that part.  
  
The crowd started screaming in terror and tried everything that they could to get to the nearest exit. Reala laughed coldly. "Fools. It won't matter where you run, you will die eventually."  
  
Link ran forward, raising his sword. "That's it! You are going down!"  
  
Reala laughed and raised his hand, catching the blade. "Idiot. We will succeed. This world with be filled with the nightmares. The heartless monsters concocted within every mind will be unleashed and the people of this plane of reality will be destroyed."  
  
Link tried to draw his blade away, but Reala held it fast. Reala laughed. "It is a pity that you and your friends won't be around to witness our triumph." He lifted the blade and threw it, link and all out of the ring and near the others.  
  
Zelda quickly ran to him. "Link! Are you alright? Link sat up and rubbed his head. "I think so... aside from the pain in every inch of my body."  
  
Zelda quickly helped him up, just in time to see Reala launch another blast of energy at a few people in the crowd who had not gotten out of the stadium fast enough.  
  
Inuyasha growled and drew his giant blade. "That's it! That guy is going down!"  
  
NiGHTS stepped in front of him. "No, Inuyasha. It is not your place to fight him. It is time I finished something that should have ended several years ago."  
  
Kenshin stepped up to him. "Be careful, NiGHTS. He is no ordinary fighter."  
  
NiGHTS nodded. "No he isn't. But neither am I." He flew into the ring and touched down near Reala. "It ends now, brother. I will not allow you to destroy this world with the nightmares made by these people."  
  
Reala laughed and threw a kick at NiGHTS. "What makes you think that you can stop me? We are equal in nearly every aspect!"  
  
NiGHTS easily blocked the kick with his hand and remained calm as he started to hover a few inches off the ground. "Reala, you are correct. We are equal yet opposite. We perfectly balance each other out... but each of us has the same chance as anyone else to destroy our doppleganger."  
  
Reala laughed again, hovering a bit himself. "NiGHTS, I can't really argue with your logic. You always made good points whenever we argued in the past."  
  
NiGHTS nodded and took a mid-air fighter stance. "Nice to see that you still have a memory of those times. Now... we fight!"  
  
The charged at each other, swiftly. Each of them started to lash out with every limb available to them, while at the same time blocking the other's attacks.  
  
Link and the other's watched with wide eyes as the two began their epic battle. Zidane stared at them worriedly. "Tell me, how good are the odds?"  
  
Yusuke looked at them. "Well, given everything that they just said, they are both exactly equal."  
  
Inuyasha started running towards them. "Then allow me to tip the scale!"  
  
Reala broke away and growled. "Stay out of this!" he shouted. He raised his hand and a bunch of shadows around the ring took shape into creatures that had no faces except for glowing yellow eyes. They looked like small insects. (Think the shadow enemies from Kingdom Hearts)  
  
Inuyasha growled as they leapt towards him. "Get out of my way!" he shouted as he leaped forward at them.  
  
Link and they others drew their weapons. Robotnik came up to them. "I'm afraid that, with my mech in this condition, I'm not going to be much help."  
  
Link nodded in understanding. "That's okay. You'll be with us in spirit."  
  
Robotnik nodded and ran back to his mech. "From way over here, that is!"  
  
Kenshin slashed at the first creature that came at them and the battle on the ground began.  
  
Reala nodded, satisfied that there would be no more interruptions. "Now, brother, I think that we were doing something?"  
  
NiGHTS nodded and charged.  
  
!#$%&()!#$%&()=  
  
Okay, there's your update. Sorry that it is so short, but I am still recovering from writer's block. But the next one will be longer, I promise. 


	14. Tournament's Resolution!

1Yeah! I'm actually updating! Finally, I hear you cry. Alright, nothing really big has happened except for the fact that I finally have a more reliable computer to my name!

Chapter 12:The tournament's resolution

NiGHTS charged full blast at Reala and Reala mimicked the move. As they collided, the forces of dark and light seemed to shake the stadium as they began their bout. NiGHTS lashed out with his foot, attempting to catch Reala in the chest. Reala bent backward, dodging the kick, bringing his own foot up. NiGHTS sidestepped the attack and hovered away.

Reala returned to his upright position and raised his hand. A dark flame appeared there. "As you can see, brother, I have managed to harness the darker forces to my liking."

NiGHTS nodded. "Impressive." He raised his own hand, bringing forth a white flame. "You are not the only one who has been training. I can harness the powers of light at will."

Reala smirked and threw his firbal, NiGHTS throwing his as well. They collided and the forces exploded, causing the entire place to shake again. NiGHTS and Reala had to shield themselves from the blast. Both of them were thrown backwards a bit, but they soon recovered and frowned at each other.

Reala laughed a bit. "We cannot continue like this forever, NiGHTS. One of us must fall."

NiGHTS nodded. "I must agree with you, Reala... one of us will fall before the day is out. But I will not be that one!"

---------

Link and the others really had their hands full fighting the shadow monsters. Link slashed through another one, but it seemed that for every one that he killed, another two popped up in it's place!

Inuyasha was doing the most damage with his giant sword. He managed to catch several monsters in one slash, but they quickly started attacking him from ever angle.

Yusuke met them fist to fist in a street fight fashion. His energy blasts quickly dealt with several of them, but when they managed to get in close, they slashed at his hands and his knuckles started bleeding harshly.

Rouge was having her own hard time. Her kicks were powerful, but they could only catch two or three at a time, leaving her vunerable from other angles.

Kenshin wasn't really having a problem. His swordsmenship was good enough to keep the shadows at bay, even when their numbers started to increase rapidly.

Robotnik was next to useless right now, since his mech was totaled by Reala. Luckily, the shadows had failed to notice him.

Zidane was fighting flexibly, having to adapt his attacks every once in a while because he jumped from one group of shadows to the next.

Mewtwo was plowing through everything in his path, destroying them with a mere thought.

Zelda was having little trouble, but she was getting dizzy. She was twirling around gracefully, her chain dancing in a circle around her, heavily damaging all of the shadows that came within reach.

Link growled as he brought another one down. "We can't keep this up forever!" he shouted.

Zidane nodded, fending off another attacker. "Tell me something I don't know!"

--------

Back in the ring, the fight between NiGHTS and Reala raged on, neither gaining an edge. They were both now covered in injuries from attacks that generally backfired on them.

Reala smiled slightly. "You realize that neither of us may make it out of this fight alive, don't you?"

NiGHTS chuckled. "Yeah, but it'll be worth it if I can take you with me."

Reala frowned and charged. "Let's just see about that!"

NiGHTS charged as well, each of them locking hands in the center of the ring. They pushed back and threw a kick at each other, their legs colliding. They pulled back again and threw a punch, this time their fists met. They repeated this several times before stopping and taking a breath. "It seems that this is getting us nowhere, NiGHTS."

NiGHTS nodded, knowing that his brother was correct. "Yes... I think it is time that we settle this once and for all."

The both flew to the edge of the ring and each of them touched down on the ground. They raised their fingers so that they were pointing at each other. Reala smiled a bit. "Now, we shall truly see who is stronger. Are you ready, NiGHTS?"

NiGHTS nodded and his hand glowed with blue energy. "I am ready, Reala. We shall end this here and now. Our feud will finally be put to rest."

Reala nodded, his hand eminating red energy. They each chanted something inunderstandable. The force field around them disappeared and the shadow creatures evaporated. All eyes turned towards the two.

Their eyes shined and a laser shot from each of their hands. Neither of them could step out of the way in time. The attack collided with each of them, catching them full in the chest and sending them to the ground.

Link and the others quickly ran to NiGHTS' side. "NiGHTS! Are you alright?"

NiGHTS smirked and opened his eyes. "I'm okay... but I think that would mean that he's alright as well."

NiGHTS was right. Reala looked over at them. "It would seem that even that did not settle this, did it?"

The both stood up painfully. Before they had a chance to charge, however, there was a flash of white, and what seemed to be a portal opened. A young raven black haired girl stepped out of it. She carried a bow and a quiver of arrows. She wore a long baggy robe that seemed to shift from white to black as she walked.

Reala looked at her and smiled. "Kikyo! Thank god that it's you. Please, I need your assistance to deal with these trouble makers!"

Kikyo gave him a glance colder than ice that made him shiver. "You failed, Reala. You are now marked as obsolete!" She raised her bow and an arrow of energy launched at him. Reala was struck in the chest and negative energy coursed through him.

He looked at her with eyes filled with wonder. "Kikyo... why?" He dropped down, and burst into dust as he hit the ground. Everyone gasped.

Inyasha raised his sword. "Who the hell are you?" he asked threateningly.

Kikyo turned to face him. "Who am I? I am the one who will eventually destroy the wall between your world and the dream world. Prepare to suffer."

NiGHTS raised himself. "Why you..."

Kikyo shook her head. "I have no time to deal with you now... farewell!" she shouted. There was another flash and she was gone.

Kenshin stared at the spot where she had stood. "Kikyo... just what is she?"

Yusuke spat. "She's a bitch, that's what she is."

NiGHTS wobbled a bit. "She's the one? I... thought..." He couldn't get any farther and collapsed.

Link ran up and caught him. "He needs help, now!" Inuyasha grabbed NiGHTS and started off for the hospital. Link stared at the spot where Kikyo had been and the remains of Reala. "Now what?" he asked himself.

!#$%&()!#$%&()

Well, there you are. I have taken my time to make another chapter when I could have been using this time to play Metroid Prime or something as equally unproductive. But, I did this instead. GO ME! Anyway, let me know what you think and I will get the next chapter out when I can, Kay?


	15. What now?

1Well, that wasn't too long, was it? Right? Anyways, don't expect too much to happen in this chapter, just a lot of discussion... with that in mind, I would still be appreciative if you would read and review... I'm willing to use bribes if I need to!

Chapter 15: What now?

Link and the others were currently back at the inn, pondering what to do next. Almost all of their wounds had been healed, but Robotnik still needed to try and get the weapon systems back online for his mech and NiGHTS was still recovering from his battle with Reala. He was conscious, but he couldn't move very easily or without pain.

Link sighed from his spot on the couch. "Well, now what?" he asked his friends.

Inuyasha growled. "What do you mean what now? Let's just do what we always do, go out and play the heros and totally waste the bitch!"

NiGHTS chuckled from where he was on the bed. "It isn't as simple as that, Inuyasha..."

Kenshin tilted his head. "Why isn't it? She did seem rather powerful to destroy her own soldier like that, but I see very little difference between her and our past foes."

Nights chuckled again. "The difference is, we can't kill what isn't supposed to be alive."

Zidane squinted a bit. "What're you talking about, NiGHTS?"

NiGHTS sighed. "I know Kikyo... she was once one of the greatest priestesses in the world, able to communicate with the dream world from this world at will. But, as time wore on, her heart, for some reason, began to corrode and ice over. Until one day, she announced that she was declaring war on both worlds. We in dream world were powerless to do anything, currently unable to break through the barrier keeping the worlds separate. For a time, she remained unchecked... until she was struck down by a half demon of unknown origin. For a time, we were all at peace. Then, an old witch, seeking to make Kikyo's powers her own, dug up her ashes and created a body for her... calling back her soul into a body that was made of nothing but clay and ashes. Kikyo went berserk and destroyed the witch. Now granted life again, she is seeking to finish what she started by utterly tearing both worlds apart."

Robotnik stroked his humongous orange moustache in thought. "So... what we saw there was a construct of mud and magic... and yet she was still able to hold all that power?"

NiGHTS nodded. "That is correct. Somehow, she has gained the ability to reach into the dream world and draw nightmares under her control. Reala, my brother, was a nightmare... and those shadow creatures that we fought... were nightmares as well."

Rouge shook her head in disbelief. "But how can she do that? How can she simply reach into your world and take what she needs?"

NiGHTS tried to tilt his head to face her, but cringed and stayed where he was. "There is a limitless amount of materials at her disposal. Nightmares are created from the negative thoughts and fears of people in this world. Good dreams are created in the same fashion. Lately, the number of nightmares in the dream world has been increasing..."

Yusuke scoffed. "So why don't you guys blast them to bits?"

NiGHTS managed to shake his head gently. "There are a few reasons, my shoot-now-ask-questions-later friend. They multiply faster than we can kill them off... and we are a small force to begin with. I... used to be a nightmare myself, but I defected, having my own conscious, something that no other nightmare has. I hated my fellow nightmares for what they were doing. So I joined the special forces who defended the world."

Mewtwo nodded sagely. "Well, at least now we know a bit more about what we're up against. I came here from another world also... but I have no doubt in my mind that, if Kikyo and the nightmares break the barrier between the dream world and this world, the will attempt to break the barriers between the other worlds as well, until the entire space time continuum itself collapses."

NiGHTS nodded. "If that is allowed to happen, the universe and all that is embodied within it will cease to exist... we would be in a void of nothing, unable to live, to breath, to feel... it would be a world without creation... and the nightmares would continue to thrive in a world like that."

Zelda gasped as all this came to her attention. "We have to stop her... but how is she destroying the barrier?"

NiGHTS gave her as close to a shrug as he could manage. "I came here wanting an answer to the same question as well... She must be using a large magical force and she... she must also have access to the dream world facilities as well. She must be trying to work away at it from both sides."

Link nodded and stood up. "We must find a way to stop her... we need to go, tomorrow. We need to destroy all of her minions in this world as well as the dream world... NiGHTS, is there a way that we could get to your world from here?"

NiGHTS shook his head. "Not that I know of... I came here by entering your subconscious while you were asleep and then forcing myself out through your imagination. We cannot do that to enter dream world since we don't really sleep and... well, we were formed from imaginations..."

Zelda nodded. "Then, we'll have to find another way..."

Robotnik stepped forward. "I think I know a good place to start..." He held up a large news paper that had a picture of a fortress on it. "It says here that a large fortress just suddenly popped up out of nowhere near the lilac forest. Several odd creatures have been crawling out of it ever since and they've been capturing humans and bringing them in... they call it a human ranch."

Zidane nodded. "Then, tomorrow, we're going to the human rance..."

NiGHTS laughed a bit. "We can't go anywhere until I can move again, Zidane. Don't get ahead of yourself."

Mewtwo sighed. "My healing abilities are very limited in this world. There is little that I can do for you and the red potion that we gave you will take a while to take effect. The best option that we have right now is to sleep and pray that we'll be able to travel tomorrow."

Everyone agreed and they all fell into a restless sleep. NiGHTS, however, stayed awake. "I... shall stop her, no matter what. I am now a sword, like them... and never again, shall I serve in dream world..."

------------------------

Kikyo smiled to herself as she stepped down the dark hall to her chambers. She stopped momentarily to look out at the void that she was in. "Foolish creatures... and that half demon, Inuyasha they called him... he seems familar to me..."

She suddenly felt very cold, as if someone had cast a gigantic shadow over her. She heard a voice speak to her. "Is all going according to plan, my puppet?"

Kikyo nodded. "Yes, my mistress. The swords now know of our plans."

The shadow nodded. "Exellent... this is just what we need... all we need to do is wait until they all come and then we shall crush them all in one fell swoop... just remember, Kikyo... I hold your soul within my grasp. Fail me, and you shall suffer an eternal damnation in hell..."

The shadow faded and Kikyo shivered. "Yes... my mistress." She hurried to her chambers, slamming the door behind her.

!#$&()!#$&()!#$&()!#$&()

There you are, my next chapter. Sorry if it seemed like a long time before I updated, but I did manage to get around to it, right? Well, my other fic, in the FFCC section will be on hold for a while until I can regain my ability to write about stuff like that. Anyways, R/R please!


	16. under siege

1I... am... ALIVE! Yahoo! Now, I bring to you, an actual chapter of one of my long-neglected fics! Don't worry, now that I have finally managed to get my life under control and have completed another one of my stories, I feel much more confident and I am ready to continue with the ones I have going as of now. Thank you and good night.

_**Chapter 16: Under siege**_

Link stirred in his sleep slightly. He had an odd feeling that something big was about to happen. Moaning, he sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He heard NiGHTS chuckle from the bed near him. "Couldn't sleep, huh pal?"

Link looked over at NiGHTS. He did look a lot better than he had before, the red potion starting to take effect. "Well, I did get a bit of sleep in... what time is it?" he asked, looking out at the still dark sky.

NiGHTS thought about his answer for a second before responding, "Oh, about three in the morning, give or take. You had a feeling that something was gonna happen, right?"

Link nodded. "Yeah... you felt it too?"

NiGHTS nodded in return and sat up, grunting a bit. "I did... unfortunately, if it turns out to be a combat situation, I won't be of much use for a while. I'm still trying to recover... and Robotnik is still trying to repair his machine."

Link nodded again. "Don't worry about it, we can hold the fort against anything that comes our way until you're ready to fight."

NiGHTS sighed and shifted a bit. "You should not underestimate a nightmare." He managed to raise himself to a standing position. "Have you ever had a... really, REALLY bad dream? The kind that you just wish that you would wake up and it would all become unreal again?"

Link thought it over. "Sure, who hasn't?"

NiGHTS looked out the window. "That is exactly what creates a nightmare... and not just any nightmare, really bad dreams create really powerful dark creatures. Things like Stormwings..."

Link tilted his head. "Stormwings? What are they?" he asked, although he feared the answer.

NiGHTS sighed. Their entire race was spawned from a single human's dream. That human had traveled the world, searching for things that no one else would ever find. All this human found was war, famine, starvation, death. The human started dreaming of these things constantly, wanting to put an end to it, to make people realize that they were wasting lives needlessly. Therefore, the Stormwings were born, powerful nightmares that did nothing but feed off of mortal fear and desecrate corpses of dead soldiers."

Link shuddered. "And... someone dreamed of this!"

NiGHTS grinned slightly. "Scary, isn't it? The human mind is a very strange thing, Link. Sometimes they don't even realize some of the things that are going on in them."

Link gulped a bit. "And what of good dreams? They create good creatures, right?"

NiGHTS nodded. "Of course... but they are mostly peace-lovers, not fighters. That is why, in Nightopia, we are rather hard-pressed for fighters at the moment..."

Link was about to ask more questions when someone was heard outside, yelling at the top of their lungs, "Wake up everyone! Hurry! The town is under siege by unknown creatures!"

Link frowned and nodded towards NiGHTS who nodded back. They both ran, or limped in NiGHTS case, to the other's rooms and started waking them up. Everyone rushed out and saw the mayor and everyone else panicking.

Kenshin walked up to the mayor. "What's going on, sir?"

The mayor gasped for breath. "Several creatures have set up camp outside the town. They are all like zombies, dark and lifeless!"

NiGHTS growled lightly. "Nightmares... show us to the wall..."

The mayor nodded and led them towards the wall. As they all looked out, the could do nothing but gasp in horror. Stretching out in a long sea of black and glowing yellow eyes as a seemingly endless army of all sorts of nightmares, even ones perched in the air.

Inuyasha growled. "Damn it... they really don't want us in the way, do they?"

Yusuke snorted. "What was your first clue?"

Mewtwo sighed. "Now is not the time for your bickering! This town has just been put under siege in an attempt to keep us from progressing to the human ranch... we must find a way past them."

Robotnik sighed as he looked out along them. Even if we had NiGHTS at full health, my egg walker at full power, and all of us fought together with all our strength, I still doubt that we would have any luck cutting through all of them."

Zelda nodded. "You're right, Robotnik... we can't cut through that many nightmares, especially when we know nothing about what they are capable of."

Zidane sighed gently, looking out at them. "Well... they don't look like they're getting ready to storm the place, that's good."

Rouge nodded. "It's good to an extent. They're prepared for a long wait. They'll try an starve us out and then attack when we can't hold our own."

NiGHTS shook his head. "This shouldn't be possible, no nightmare possesses the intelligence to construct a siege of this magnitude all on their own. Nightmares are good at fighting off intruders and following orders from their superiors, but that's it."

Inuyasha grinned. "Alright, that can only mean that Kikyo is the one who set this whole thing up."

Yusuke crossed his arms. "I doubt that... she seemed intent on getting us somewhere with everything that she told us yesterday... and if it was her, I don't sense her anywhere... I would have figured that she would show up to her own siege."

Mewtwo nodded. "That would make sense. She would need to be here in order to command these creatures and keep them this organized, wouldn't she?"

NiGHTS nodded. "Correct... and like I said, no rogue group of nightmares would have the grey matter to stage an assault this well-organized."

Zelda thought for a second. "Well then, who is controlling them?"

A small blob of black matter materialized in front of the gate. "Allow me to answer that question..." came a voice from nowhere. The blob took a large form, one that would freak most out. A skull-like face, well-muscled arms and legs, a gelatinous body...

NiGHTS gasped. "A... a sleep-walker?"

The creature chuckled a bit. "So glad that you know of me... Swords, we, of the brotherhood of the wide-awake nightmare, are here to destroy you as our first step towards taking over this world.

Robotnik chuckled. "I get it... it makes sense now. You defected from Kikyo's ranks and convinced all these nightmares to follow you."

The sleep-walker nodded. "Yes... unlike ordinary nightmares, we sleep-walkers were formed from people who dreamed while awake... 'day-dreaming' most would call it, but sometimes, those daydreams weren't so pleasant. Eventually, they were like nightmares themselves, giving birth to us. We have an intelligence unlike these mindless beings you see before you."

Mewtwo chuckled. "And you are certain that you have a chance of winning against us?"

The sleep-walker nodded. "Most definitely. Only you Swords will be a problem. The villagers will not fight... I doubt that any of them have ever wielded a weapon since the war with the Shakras all those years ago, when so many new nightmares were given new life."

Zelda clenched her fists. "Why you..."

The sleep-walker chuckled again. "Come now, princess, no reason to get crude and violent now... the time will come, eventually. You shall run out of your precious supplies soon enough. And when that time comes, then we, the brotherhood of the wide-awake nightmare, shall destroy you all and this quaint little village as well. Then, we shall move on and dominate that wench Kikyo as well."

Kinshen turned away from the scene. "We have learned what we needed, that we have. I suggest that we figure out a plan to get ourselves out of this situation. We need to get to that human ranch as quickly as possible. Innocent lives could be lost there, that they could."

Everyone nodded, knowing that this would be best. NiGHTS cast another glance over at the nightmares before turning away. "Yes..." he answered simply.

Link started to ponder their situation. They now had to stop Kikyo AND a large brotherhood of defected nightmares led by a giant jell-o cube with giant sticks for hands... could this get any worse?

There! Whoa, that felt good! Okay, not a lot of action in this chapter, but I promise to make that up soon... hehehehe. Read are Review please!


	17. New objectives and an escape

1Well, here I am with another chapter for you all. Thanks for the new reviews after me being away so long. It is really appreciated. Now, I believe that I should get started with the new chapter, right?"

_**Chapter 17: new objectives and an escape**_

Link sat in the inn's tavern with his friends, all of them wondering what to do now. They were currently under siege from a large number of renegade nightmares and there was little to no chance that, even combined, he and his friends would not be able to fight off such an army.

Robotnik had now finished his mech and was sitting in a large chair in a corner of the room. "I just had a nasty thought... if a renegade army is this large, then how large do you think Kikyo's army will be."

NiGHTS let out a rather dark chuckle. "At least fifty times as large, if not more."

Inuyasha growled. "Then what chance do we have of winning?" he asked angrily.

Mewtwo looked over at his friend. "You must not despair just yet, Inuyasha. There are other ways of defeating your opponent than simply charging in and beating them to a pulp."

Robotnik nodded. "Yes, to get out of this, we'll need to be a lot more tactical... and even after we escape, Inuyasha has a point. How can even we beat such a large number of enemies?"

Yusuke sighed and rammed is arm into the wall hard, causing a large hole to appear there.

Zidane, who had been sitting rather close to that particular spot on the wall, jumped straight into Rouge's lap. "Was that really necessary?"

Rouge sighed and shook her head. "I don't think it was, but I don't really mind the outcome." She grinned lightly, as did Zidane.

Yusuke frowned a bit. "Hey guys... there's something in here."

Inuyasha snorted. "Yeah, your hand."

Yusuke shot Inuyasha a death glare before shaking his head. "No, it feels like... some sort of scroll." He wrapped his fingers around the scroll and pulled it out. It was indeed, a scroll and was tied with a simple red ribbon.

Kenshin took it from Yusuke and undid the ribbon, unrolling the scroll. "It is in a language I don't recognize..."

Link looked over his friend's shoulder and his face went blank. "It looks like a bunch of childish scribbles!"

Zelda took the scroll from them and looked it over. "I... I can read it. This kind of writing was covered in my studies back at Hyrule castle. It's some sort of testament."

Link nodded. "Well, let's hear it..."

Zelda nodded gently and cleared her throat, reading from the parchment. "I am dying. As my life fades from me, I can only pray that someone finds this message that has information vital to the survival of the future humans. I have seen the future, where nightmares run free of their bonds of the human mind and seek to destroy not only their own world, but ours as well. In response, a group of heroes will emerge, but their powers alone will not be able to defeat those that command the nightmares. They must find their hidden powers, which have been carefully sealed to prevent those who are not worthy from claiming them. These powers shall be the key to defeating the nightmares. Look for them, hone them, use them. I now leave to whomever finds this message, the locations of the seals...

To the hero of time: Look for yours buried deep within the softest earth.

To the princess of destiny: Your power can be found within the one who will willingly sacrifice itself for you.

To the former man-slayer: Yours lies in the last man you shall ever kill.

To the half demon: It is scattered with the wind.

To the rogue: Yours is sealed within a stronghold belonging to the nightmares.

To the spirit fighter: It is somewhere on the borderline between this world and the next.

To the former mad genius: The mountains of metal hold what you seek.

To the created psychic: Look to the sky.

To the white thief: Steal some jewels and you'll be sure to find it among them.

To the master of dreams: Your home holds the secret.

To the girl who overcame time: You shall find it buried in the heart of stone.

To the female sword master: When you pick up a steal sword, your wooden one will point you in the correct direction."

Zelda stopped, rolling up the script. "I... can make out anymore, the rest of the writing is smeared beyond recognition."

Everyone remained quiet as they took this in. NiGHTS set a finger on his chin. "Wonder who knew we were coming..."

Inuyasha snorted. "Probably another damn seer. We just can't seem to go anywhere without running into at least one of them."

Link sighed a bit. "We do seem to run into them a lot. Prophecies, powers, more warriors, nightmares... could this get anymore complicated?"

Yusuke slapped his hand over Link's mouth. "Shut up, you idiot, you'll jinx it!"

Kenshin chuckled lightly. "Well... I do think that we should take this seriously... so he provided us with clues on where we could find our own powers. I wonder what they could be?"

Zidane shrugged. "With all the strange stuff that we've seen, who knows?"

Robotnik input the clues into his computer for future reference. "Well, not even my computers can solve them, meaning that they were put in some very strategic or odd places."

Rouge grinned a bit. "Do you think that Inuyasha's could be even worse body odor?" she asked innocently.

There were several chuckles at this, but Inuyasha snarled at her. "Sleep with your eyes open, bat-girl."

Rouge sighed and made a fake shiver. "Ohh, I'm so scared, dog-boy."

Mewtwo sighed gently and shook his head. "I think that we should get back to the task at hand... we know about those powers now, but what do we do now? We can't exit through the main gate and we're under siege here."

Kenshin sighed and tried to lean against the side of the building, but he slipped and fell to the ground. As he landed, there was a small, hollow bang. Everyone stared and Kenshin got up to reveal that he had been sitting on a manhole.

NiGHTS grinned. "I think that we just found our way out."

Yusuke raised an eyebrow. "How can you tell?"

Robotnik chuckled. "All sewers lead to the ocean in one form or another. This is our ticket to freedom."

Inuyasha nodded and grabbed the manhole cover, grunting as he heaved it off. Zelda stuck her head over the opening and coughed gently, falling back. "It stinks down there!"

Zidane stuck his head over it and grimaced. It did stink. "Well, we don't have much of a choice, do we? Besides, did you expect it to smell like roses or something?" Not waiting for anyone else, he jumped down, making a small splash. "Aw damn it! I landed in someone's diarrhea!"

Rouge burst out laughing. "That's what you get for not using the ladder, dear!" She grabbed the ladder and climbed down it quickly.

Robotnik had to be a... but more room to get his Egg walker down there, but he did get it down eventually. Everyone else followed and for the next hour and a half, it was nothing but dodging shit, sloshing through human wastes, groping for the walls, and cursing. Finally, they came to a ladder and everyone was glad to get out of the sewers.

Once again, Robotnik needed to make some room around the entrance, but he eventually got his egg walker out. Link looked around and was relieved to find that they were in the wilderness, possibly a good distance away from the town and the army. He smiled. "Alright, we are now out of harms way for right now... so next, we need to get to the human ranch first."

Mewtwo nodded and closed his eyes. "I think it's somewhere in that direction." He pointed to the south east.

NiGHTS nodded. "Right, let's go!"

Everyone nodded and, now that they were no long in any danger, set out towards the human ranch.

!#&()!#&()+

There, new chapter done and done. BTW, I never EVER want to receive an e-mail from anyone ever again, demanding for me to update. I'll update when I can or when I feel like it, but comments like the one I received recently (It said, and I quote, UPDATE! DAMMIT!) Will only discourage me from writing. Writing just like everything else can only be done well when someone feels like it or the end product will be horrible. I write because I like to write and I like to share my ideas with others, not so I can have people shouting at me. Thank you.


	18. Arrows of light

1I have returned. This new chapter shall introduce another new sword for you all. That's it. Have a nice day... good day...

_**Chapter 18: arrows of light**_

As Link and the others continued to wander away from the town which was probably still under siege from the nightmares, everyone was extremely tense. All hands were on weapons and armor, and eyes darted from place to place nervously. The nightmares would probably be everywhere by now, scouring this place. If not from the sleep walker's army, then from Kikyo's.

Link straightened a bit and looked at Zelda. "Zelda, how much of the scroll is desecrated?"

Zelda perked up and took out the scroll they had found earlier. Unrolling it, she looked it over again. "Well, from what I can see, around five or six paragraphs."

Link looked it over with her and nodded. Indeed, a good portion of the lower part of it was smeared beyond reading. "I wonder what happened to it. It was safe in that wall all that time, the lower half should be in the same condition as the rest of the scroll."

Robotnik shook his head. "Not necessarily. It is possible that the scroll suffered some minor water damage or some smearing from poor handling when the ink was still drying."

Rouge nodded. "Robotnik has a point. Whoever wrote this did say that he was dying, right? Getting the scroll into the wall in one piece would have been one of the least of my worries at the time."

NiGHTS floated over them with Mewtwo, scanning the area around them. He looked down. "Sorry to break up the conversation, but we've got a few friends approaching... flight nightmares..."

Mewtwo nodded in agreement, looking in the same direction as his flying friend. "He's right... a good number too, twenty. They aren't taking any risks this time around. I can't tell who's side they're on though, Kikyo's or the sleep walker's.

Zidane drew out his two blades and held them at arm's length. "Oh goodie, a workout." His voice was practically dripping with sarcasm.

Kenshin drew his own sword, looking up at the sky as it started to blacken and several different nightmares started to appear, all winged, some based off of dragons, others off of birds. He found it very hard to believe that these creatures were actually created from the dreams and thoughts of humans.

The first several nightmares descended on them, dodging around the shots that Robotnik fired at them. Inuyasha's sword blazed around them, taking out several of them in one slash.

Several more gave feral screams and launched themselves at Inuyasha's blind side. They didn't get far, however, as Yusuke stepped in their way and fired off several spirit gun blasts.

Mewtwo and NiGHTS floated back to back, surrounded by four or five of the creatures. NiGHTS smirked. "Think you can keep them off my back?"

Mewtwo chuckled. "Keep them off mine and I'll keep them off yours."

They nodded at each other, flying in small circles around each other, finally flying at them, attacking with all their might, Mewtwo throwing his psychic energy at them and NiGHTS throwing several paraloops at them, destroying them with relative ease.

Link growled lightly. No matter how many he cut down, they seemed to be reproducing themselves faster than he could kill them. "Damn it! They planned this! They're coming too fast!"

Zelda panted a bit as she swung her chain at another one of the bad nightmares. "How do they keep reappearing like this?" she asked.

Robotnik quickly swung his mech, trying to fire his machine gun at the larger group of them. "They have some sort of healing spell over them! It's allowing them to regenerate their flesh at an obscene rate!"

Rouge let out a loud scream and Zidane watched in horror as several of the nightmares lifted her off the ground, holding her arms and wings. "Let me go!" she shouted, kicking furiously, but unable to reach them despite her flexibility.

Zidane growled and jumped up into a tree. "Let her go!" he shouted, preparing to lunge at them when he felt something grab his tail. He turned to see one of the bird-like nightmares, grinning like an idiot. Zidane tried to hop away, but the bird lifted him up into the air and started spinning him around at a high speed. He grew nauseous quite quickly.

Inuyasha was having his own problems right now. His sword might have been able to kill off a good number of enemies in one swing, but it was a large weapon and extremely hard to maneuver at times. This was one of those times. His back was completely exposed and he had no way of protecting it now that Yusuke was separated from him, fighting off a good number of the nightmares near him. A few of them sank their talons into his back and he let out a small cry of pain, but quickly tried to shake them off. The only thing this did was make the nightmares clamp harder and make room for several more of the nightmares to come at him.

Yusuke and Kenshin were currently backed up against a tree, trying to fend off the nightmares themselves. But Yusuke's spirit energy would only go so far and he was running out fast. Kenshin himself was beginning to tire from the battles he was fighting. "We can't go on like this, that we can't."

Yusuke nodded. "Tell me something I don't know. We don't stand a chance against them as long as they keep regenerating like this!"

Kikyo stared at this from a large cauldron in the center of a large chamber in her castle in the dream world. "The fools... they can't beat a regenerating nightmare... a nightmare that was spawned from a recurring bad dream... just like the nightmare it was spawned from, it keeps coming back." She let a small smile cross her lips as she walked away from the cauldron and towards the balcony. She rested her hands on the railing and looked out on the barren wastes that she had created.

A month ago, this land would have been called paradise. Luscious fruit bearing trees as far as the eye could see, green ground, blue sky, several wonderful lakes and waterfalls, happy laughter everywhere... it made her sick. It looked so much prettier now... dead and barren... just like her.

She let a small, chilling giggle pass her lips. Just like everything else about her, it was hollow, devoid of life. She felt a small twinge of dark energy behind her and bowed her head. "You are back so suddenly?" she asked respectfully.

An unseen figure shifted behind her, making her robes ruffle lightly. "Indeed, Kikyo... you know of the rebellion from the sleep walker?"

Kikyo nodded. "Yes, I noticed... he took a large portion of my army for himself... but he shall easily be dealt with, I promise. His forces are insignificant compared to the forces I have built for myself.

The figure nodded lightly. "Good... I know that you shall not fail me, Kikyo. Remember, I made you and I can break you just as easily."

Kikyo shuddered visibly. "Understood... he shall pay for betraying his mistress, I promise."

The figure, shrouded in its own shadows, turned as if to leave, but it stopped, sensing something out of the ordinary. "Kikyo... someone is coming to assist the swords soon. Someone very powerful indeed..." The figure vanished into the darkness of the room, disappearing completely.

Kikyo raised her head and turned sharply, retreating back into the darkness of her castle, the white of her robes contrasting heavily with the absolute gloom of the place. She walked to another corner and faced what appeared to be a large chess board. On one side was a collection of pieces that looked a lot like Link and the others, all arranged neatly in place of ordinary chess pieces, despite the fact that they were a few pieces shy of a full army. On the other side stood figures that were heavily cloaked and shadowed, making it impossible to tell who they were. She herself had a piece on the board that represented her, standing in the very center of the army.

Raising her hand over Link's side of the board, she said softly, "Show me who this new enemy is..." Another piece materialized on Link's side of the board and Kikyo's eyes widened. She drew back in possible fear and clenched her fists. "No! How could she... she was supposed to be in a later time! How did she get here?"

Back with Link and the others, things were not going well. All of them were now huddled up in one group, back to back, staring down a massive army of the winged nightmares. Link held his sword out at arm's length. "Anybody got any bright ideas?" he asked quickly.

Inuyasha nodded. "Yeah, I got one! Don't get killed!"

Zidane let out a groan. "Oh thanks a lot, Mr. Obvious!"

NiGHTS reached back and swatted Zidane quickly. "Less arguing, more defending!"

Even though they all knew it was hopeless, they weren't about to go down without a fight. If this was where it ended, then it ended with style.

As the nightmares started to descend on the doomed group of heroes, A bright flash of light lit up the darkened sky. The light came closer until he cut straight through the nightmares, all of the ones it hit giving out a loud cry of pain and disintegrating, nothing left of them but ash. Their regeneration ability wouldn't help them now!

The remaining nightmares, seeing their comrades falling so easily to the strange flash of light, flew away quickly, not wanting to suffer a similar fate.

Link dropped his sword in exhaustion and sat down, breathing heavily. Kenshin propped himself up with his sword, trying hard to remain standing, as did Yusuke and Inuyasha. Zidane, ironically, hand been dropped from a good distance and was currently watching the world spin around his dizzy head while Rouge, who had managed to get away from the nightmares who had lifted her, plopped down next to him. Robotnik's mech had come out of the battle unscathed, but the doctor himself had a large gash in his right arm and was bleeding lightly from his head. Mewtwo was in an extreme amount of pain right now, not from bodily wounds though. It was due to the severe migraine he was suffering from, from using so much of his mental energy. As for NiGHTS, he was a bit cut up, but nothing too severe. He had been a nightmare once after all. Zelda stayed near Link, resting her head on his shoulder.

Link quickly rose his head and looked straight ahead. "Anyone have any idea where that came from?"

As if to answer his question, a young woman, sporting a bow and arrow came out of the foliage. "Uh, hi?" she said uncertainly.

Inuyasha's eyes flared for a second. "It's Kikyo!" he shouted, raising his sword.

The young woman gave a yelp and hid behind a tree. "Hey, my name's not Kikyo, it's Kagome."

Inuyasha evidently didn't believe her and came forward a bit. "Oh yeah? Well then, how come you reek of her scent?"

NiGHTS held up a hand to Inuyasha. "Calm yourself, she isn't Kikyo... look how she's dressed. It's nothing from Nightopia and it isn't anything from this era..."

The girl who called herself Kagome came forward a bit. "Yeah, I was wondering if you could tell me where I was. All I remember is a big flash of white and I ended up here in this place with a bow and a quiver full of arrows."

Link managed to rise a bit. "And where exactly do you come from?" he asked gently.

Kagome thought about it for a second. "Tokyo, Japan, from the year 1999."

Everyone stared at her confusedly, but Mewtwo simply chuckled. "I see... you're from the far future. This is a very feudal time, dear Kagome. Nothing like where you come from and the place 'Japan' will not be heard of for... a few dozen millenniums if I remember correctly."

Kagome's eyes widened. "WHAT! I... I'm in the past?"

Zelda stood up. "It's not an unheard of concept... Mewtwo here comes from an entirely different world, so we could assume that you were dragged here for a reason."

Kagome tilted her head. "But what reason? I was just a normal school girl before I was sent here, now all of a sudden I can make lightning bolts appear when I fire an arrow."

Link's mind revisited the prophecy and he stared at the girl for a second. "Wait... maybe we should tell you what's been happening here..." He did. He and the others quickly related to the many adventures they had been through and what relevance they thought she might have to this whole thing.

After that was taken care of, Kagome herself didn't know what to think. "Are... are you sure that it's me you're looking for and not someone else?"

Link shrugged. "We don't know... but we didn't know if we were the ones in the original prophecies or not and... so far so good. We might as well take a gamble."

Kagome smiled a bit and nodded. "Alright, I'm willing if you are. It's nice to meet you all."

Greetings were exchanged, but Inuyasha kept his distance. Kenshin frowned and faced him. "Are you not going to greet lady Kagome?" he asked.

Inuyasha snorted. "She smells like Kikyo, I want nothing to do with her."

Kenshin sighed gently and nodded a bit. "Very well, it is not my place to press the matter anyway, that it is not. I suggest that we all move on."

As the group set out again, the sun began to sink, but none of them wished to stop just yet, wanting to cover more ground before another wave of nightmares overtook them.

Kikyo clenched her fists, still staring at the newest addition to the chess board. "I don't understand... she should be in the future, she shouldn't be here, she shouldn't be here!"

She turned from the board finally and looked into the cauldron, frowning. "They killed off my wonderful nightmares... I'll kill them all..." She turned towards balcony again and growled lightly as she saw a tiny red rose among the sand and desolate waste of her land.

!#&()-!#&()-!#&()-+

Phew, this one made my fingers cramp a bit... I'm a little out of practice, lol. Tell me what you think please!


	19. Reincarnation

1I bring to you the next chapter, ahahaha. Damn, I am so glad that school is almost out for me! Only about a week and a half to go, hahaha! So, I celebrate by giving up all my free time to write this stinking chapter for you all to point and make fun of!

_**Chapter 19: Reincarnate**_

Kikyo paced about her palace nervously. She had already tried to vent her frustration by killing off a few of the weaker nightmares, but the help that offered was minimal. That girl from the future showing up was a real twist on her plans. She was supposed to be in the far future, not here in this era, she wasn't supposed to be one of the swords!

She finally walked back into her personal chambers and confronted the chess board in the corner, eyeing each piece individually. Her eyes narrowed as they set their sights upon Kagome's piece. "Karastu, come to me!" she shouted.

A shadow bubbled up from under the floor, slowly taking shape until he was roughly two feet taller than Kikyo. Speaking in a monotone, low voice, he said to her, "You called and I have come, my mistress... what need of me do you have?"

Kikyo reached out and preened the feathers on top of the nightmare's head. "Oh, my loyal pet, you are so good to me. Always following orders to the best of your abilities... today, it is a spying job. I want you to follow the army of traitors, lead by that sleep walker. Keep an eye on them and inform me if they make a move against us, understood?"

Karastu let out several odd cooing noises before nodding. "It is as you wish, my mistress. My eyes shall always be on the traitors... but, what if fate should allow me to catch any stragglers away from the main group?"

Kikyo pointed down to the large sword the nightmare carried. "Feel free to spill their blood. Traitors have no use here."

Karastu nodded eagerly. "I shall leave immediately, my mistress..." He seeped back into the floor, bubbling the same way he had when he had entered, disappearing under her feet.

Even with this distraction, Kikyo could not get her mind away from that girl. She walked to the cauldron and waved her hand over it, revealing the swords to her. They were becoming weary... it would soon be dusk there. That one with the dog ears, Inuyasha... yes, he was definitely the most temperamental of the group, even more than that young spirit master. He would be easy to trick into distrusting his companions... at least, those who he had no bond with yet. Smiling, Kikyo snapped her fingers and the cauldron's picture faded. She turned from it and walked from her room swiftly, going down the hall and out into the gardens, which were no more than some dead trees and rotting plants and vegitables.

She raised her hands and two large griffon like animals descended from the sky, landing right in front of her, bowing their heads. Petting each of them in turn, Kikyo mounted the rightmost one, dismissing the one to the left. "Take me to the swords. I have something very... important to discuss with that girl."

The griffon nodded and spread it's large wings, taking off into the desolate skies.

Link sighed gently as he looked up into the sky. The sun was setting quickly and it would soon be dark. He sat down near an aged oak tree that looked like it was ready to topple any day now. "We'll rest here for the night. Hopefully we'll stay far enough ahead of the nightmares so they can't sneak up on us during the night."

Inuyasha scoffed. "I'll keep watch for the night. I don't sleep anyway." He turned away and headed a little ways away from the others, his ears twitching a bit as he started to listen for intruders.

Kagome sighed gently as she sat down, taking off her shoes. "My feet are aching! I'm not used to this kind of travel."

Kenshin couldn't help but chuckle. "You mean people in your time don't walk everywhere?"

Kagome shook her head. "No, we have things called cars that we can use to get from place to place."

Zelda's head tilted a bit. "Is it some sort of animal?"

Kagome shook her head again. "No, it's a machine that uses fuel to go."

Mewtwo chuckled. "They aren't all they're cracked up to be, you know. They pollute the environment, they are noisy, and they are also responsible for countless deaths in your time as well."

Kagome frowned. "Yeah, but still..."

Yusuke laughed. "As far as I'm concerned, all you need to get anywhere is a good pair of feet."

Zidane nodded. "Here, here!"

Rouge nodded, stifling a yawn and laying down on the ground. "Well, I would love to join in this conversation, but I'm tired and I need my beauty sleep." She lay down, finding a rather soft spot amongst the grass and bushes, falling asleep as soon as her head touched the ground.

Chuckling, Zidane curled up next to her, putting his arms around her as he lay down himself. Rouge could be seen smiling, her hand wrapping around his.

NiGHTS smirked as he few into a tree, settling himself on a branch where he could easily see all of his companions.

Robotnik, powering down his mech, grunted a bit, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep. He shook his head and closed his eyes, even though it wasn't visible from behind his thick glasses. "We'll be reaching the human ranch tomorrow..." he whispered as he slowly drifted off into a deep sleep of his own.

Slowly, one by one, all of the swords dropped off to sleep. Eventually, only two remained awake. Inuyasha, the ever watchful guard, and NiGHTS, the sleepless nightmare.

As Inuyasha watched, he felt something strange near the camp. Frowning, he turned his ears towards the disturbance. "Come, come, come, Inuyasha..." it whispered. Growling, and knowing it was probably a trap, Inuyasha remained resolute and refused to budge. If they wanted him, then they'd have to come and meet him face to face.

However, the odd voice shifted targets. Kagome's eyes slowly opened and she frowned as she heard the voice. She was curious and new to adventuring. Slowly, she stood up, being careful not to disturb anyone as she walked away from the camp.

Inuyasha saw her go and growled. "Damn girl, what does she think she's doing?" he asked himself. Even if she was a sword, she still smelled of Kikyo. Inuyasha was still wary of her, but followed after here, careful to keep quiet.

NiGHTS watched the two go, sighing. "Looks like I'll be playing babysitter for the moment." He flew off after the two, keeping a good distance away so that Inuyasha wouldn't sense him, as astute as his senses were.

Kagome kept trudging along, having no idea that Inuyasha and NiGHTS were following her. As she walked on, she frowned as the land around her started to become less green and began to turn barren. The trees around her became dead and decrepit, frail and worthless. The grass slowly turned brown and prickly beneath her feet until there was none at all, nothing but rocks and gravel. She stopped as she saw a large tree in front of her that was not dead. The ground around it was just as alive as it was, bearing leaves and everything. "What... is this?"

There was a small chuckle from behind the tree and who should appear from behind it than Kikyo herself. "Hello there, my girl. I am glad that my voice found your attention."

Kagome gasped lightly as she looked at Kikyo. It was like looking into a mirror. "Who... are you?" she asked.

Kikyo let another chuckle pass her lips. "I am Kikyo, dear girl. I trust that your friends have told you of me?"

Kagome frowned and reached for her bow and quiver of arrows. "I've heard of you... and nothing I've heard was good."

Kikyo shook her head. "As I would expect. I don't really have much of a good reputation these days. Excuse me one moment." She turned slightly to the side and grinned. "My voice found you as well, even if you did ignore it. Come on out, Inuyasha. Your presence was needed here as well."

Inuyasha growled and stepped out into the open, wielding his giant sword. He walked forward until he was side by side with Kagome, who was rather startled to have one of her companions suddenly appear like that. "What are you doing here? Weren't you on guard duty or something?" she asked.

Inuyasha snorted. "You just got up and started walking. If that ain't suspicious, I don't know what is."

Kikyo waved to them. "I hate to interrupt your argument, but I believe we have other business to discuss at the moment."

Inuyasha nodded in agreement. "Yeah, how best to kill you!" he shouted, raising his massive blade over his head, getting ready to lunge.

Kikyo shook her head. "No, not yet, my dear halfbreed. I just thought I would let you know what Kagome here was."

Kagome frowned. "What I am? What do you mean? I'm Kagome, a human from the future, that's it."

Kikyo shook her head. "That's not it. Haven't you wondered why your powers are so similar to mine? The power you fused into your arrows... those are the powers of the priestesses of this time. It's holy power. And haven't you noticed how similar we look?" she asked.

Kagome frowned and took a step back. She didn't like where this was going. "What the heck are you talking about?"

Kikyo grinned. "Inuyasha, she smells like me, doesn't she?"

Inuyasha growled and looked from one to the other, noting their obvious similarities. "Yeah, she does, but what the hell does that have to do with anything?"

Kikyo pointed at Kagome. "That girl you are traveling with is me... in a sense. She is my reincarnation!"

Kagome gasped and staggered a bit. "I... I'm what?"

Inuyasha's eyes shot open. It all made sense now. They looked the same, smelled the same, they had similar powers. His grip tightened on his sword and he growled, turning towards Kagome. "So, you were called back here in time to provide assistance to her, weren't you wench?" he accused, raising his blade at her.

Kagome shook his head. "No! That's not it at all, Inuyasha! I didn't even know that I was her reincarnation!"

Inuyasha snorted. "Likely story, wench! I'll kill you and then her!" He lunged for Kagome and she put her hands up in a futile attempt to protect herself, expecting to feel cold steel against her flesh at any moment. There was a deep clang and Kagome winced, but felt no pain. Slowly, she opened her eyes and gasped. Standing there, was NiGHTS, holding Inuyasha's sword up above himself with both hands clasped around the blade.

NiGHTS grunted and forced the blade back. "Inuyasha, stop this madness! Kagome has no relation to Kikyo whatsoever other than the fact she is her reincarnation."

Inuyasha growled. "That's just it! She'll betray us all to that wench if we let her live! Get out of my way, NiGHTS!"

NiGHTS stood where he was, resolutely. "Are you that blind, Inuyasha? Kagome and Kikyo are two different people, as proved by the fact that both are standing right here with us. They look similar, the smell similar, they possess the same powers. Every reincarnation does, Inuyasha. But that is as deep as the similarities go!"

Inuyasha growled. "I should have known... you're in with them too, aren't you? You used to be a nightmare too!" He raised his sword, taking a swing at NiGHTS this time.

Sighing, NiGHTS ducked under the strike, jumping up and reaching into his pocket. "Figures... quick to anger, quick to judge, as they say." He pulled out a large necklace of beads from his pocket that had a few teeth sown in with them. He handed the necklace to Kagome. "I believe that I am unable to use these, Kagome. They're prayer beads, Demon subduers. A priestess should be able to use them, but I am no priestess." He ducked another swing from Inuyasha, pushing Kagome out of reach of the big sword. "Focus on them and use them to the best of your ability."

Kagome had no idea what to do with the prayer beads, so at a lack of a better idea, she threw them at the raging Inuyasha. Amazingly, they flew right around his neck. Growling, he pulled at them, but the did not come off. "What the hell?" he asked himself, still trying to pull them off.

Kagome frowned. "Now what? They aren't doing anything!"

NiGHTS grinned. "You need to choose the trigger word. A word that will activate the subduing powers of the prayer beads."

Kagome thought for a second and a sudden idea came into her head. Taking a deep breath, she shouted at the top of her lungs, "SIT!"

The beads glowed red for a second and Inuyasha gave a shout of surprise as he was suddenly pulled down to the ground so hard that there was a small tremor as his face met the stone below him.

NiGHTS grinned and couldn't help but chuckle. "What an appropriate word, Kagome."

Kagome blushed a bit and smiled. "Just kinda seemed fitting."

Inuyasha pried himself off of the ground, growling as he took up his sword again. "Damn you... I knew you couldn't be trusted..."

NiGHTS frowned. "Shut up and listen good, Inuyasha. I put that on you so that innocent blood would not be spilt. People are different, Inuyasha, all of us. We have a conscious idea of what we are. I USED to be a nightmare. I mutinied. I am not a drone anymore and I serve myself. Kagome is a good person, willing to do what is right. Our enemy here is none other than the woman behind you. Kikyo. Only Kikyo."

Inuyasha stood, poised to attack. "The others will see through you, traitors."

Kagome sighed. "Stubborn, isn't he?" she asked gently.

Kikyo frowned. "You... you ruined my plans!" she shouted at NiGHTS.

NiGHTS grinned and bowed. "Glad to see I'm doing my job properly then."

Kikyo growled a bit and disappeared behind the large tree. A large wind blew by as a large griffon, with Kikyo riding it, disappeared up into the sky.

Inuyasha growled as he watched them go, sheathing his sword. "Damn... I'll get her." He turned to Kagome and NiGHTS. "Alright... so maybe I was quick to judge... now take this thing offa me."

NiGHTS nodded. "Alright, I don't see any need to keep it on you now that the whole mess is straightened out." NiGHTS approached Inuyasha and reached out for the prayer beads, but stopped, a confused look coming over his face. "Uhh..."

Inuyasha frowned. "What is it, clown?"

NiGHTS blushed in embarrassment and backed up a bit, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, um... the fact is, I uh... kinda forgot how to take them off..."

Inuyasha's face reddened until it looked like it would explode and his eyes flashed angrily. "YOU CAN'T REMEMBER!" He launched himself at NiGHTS, but the dream jester floated away, out of range.

Kagome cleared her throat. "Maybe we should just go and get back to the others now?" she suggested.

Snorting, Inuyasha nodded. "Fine... but if you say that word again, so help me, I'll..."

Kagome smiled. "You mean 'sit?'" she asked. Inuyasha was suddenly plowed into the ground again, giving an agonized sound as he hit the gravel again. Kagome blushed a bit. "Oops... sorry about that."

Inuyasha growled and heaved himself up again, dusting himself off. "Let's just get back to the others..."

Kagome frowned. "Inuyasha... you won't tell the others will you?" she asked gently.

Inuyasha looked at her critically for a moment. Finally, he snorted and crossed his arms. "Feh, won't help me in any way, so I guess I won't tell them you're Kikyo's reincarnation."

Kagome smiled. "Thank you, Inuyasha."

NiGHTS smiled and waved to them. "Your secret is safe with me as well, Kagome... now, lets head back to the campsite, shall we? The others might get worried if they wake up and find us gone."

The trio started back, but Inuyasha, despite having accepted the fact that neither Kagome or NiGHTS were traitors, stayed a good distance away from them, probably because of what they had put over his head.

Kikyo growled as she walked into her chambers. "That stupid defect... he ruined everything! They would have killed each other if he hadn't shown up..."

She felt the same dark twinge that she always felt when her master appeared. Bowing her head, she gulped. She heard the same voice rumbling behind her. "You failed to destroy her, Kikyo."

Kikyo nodded gently. "Yes, master... I take full responsibility for it. I was close, so close..."

There was a silence for a few seconds before the voice said, "Be that as it may, I am feeling... forgiving. One little setback will not matter, they still have no way to make it here to Nightopia. You have plenty of time to rid us of those pests. But remember, recurring failure will not be tolerated."

Kikyo shivered violently as her master disappeared, the after effect of the dark presence still fresh in the room. She ran from the room, deciding that she would not sleep there tonight. She might not be able to sleep anywhere in the castle tonight...

!#$&()!#$&()+#$&()!#$&()!#$&()+

Chapter... finished... good... need... sleep... read... review... praise... kill... flamers... monkeys... sponges... tired... Zzzzzz...


End file.
